Beneath the Surface
by The Wandering Bard
Summary: Tsukune and Moka meet in the human world and become close, but when she mysteriously disappears and he sets out to find her, nothing will ever be the same again as they are both plunged into a greater war between good and evil. One thing is for sure: things aren't always what they seem. People need to look beneath the surface... AU with OC's, but non-OC centric.
1. The First Day

**Beneath the Surface**

The First Day

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Tsukune Aono rolled over in his bed and groaned.

"Morning already?" he said groggily.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

He opened one eye and squinted at the alarm clock.

6:00am it read.

_Ugh... too early.._ he thought, _but I need to get ready for school..._

He reached over and turned the alarm off.

A light knocking on his door made him sit upright.

"Tsukune, dear. Are you up? Breakfast is ready!" said the voice of his loving mother through the door.

"I'm up mom!" _Barely. _"I'll be down in a sec!" _Probably five minutes_.

He got out of bed and groaned again, rubbing his face with his right hand as he walked out of his room and to the bathroom. Standing in front of the sink, he looked into the mirror that hung over it and for a short moment observed the young man that stood sleepily before him.

There was nothing really special about Tsukune; there were no memorable features that would make him stand out in a crowd. Black hair that was usually a bit messier in the back, brown eyes that looked just as normal and similar as anyone else who had brown eyes. Thankfully, he had acne-free, flawless skin and a slightly tanned complexion.

At fourteen years old, he looked at himself in the mirror and found himself to be absolutely ordinary. Another average Japanese teenager trying to make his way in the world.

"Oh Tsukune!" called his mother's voice, "Hurry up now dear! You don't want to be late for school!"

He snapped out of his self-inspection at that point. _Crap! I need to hurry! _he thought as he quickly brushed his teeth and splashed some cold water on his face to help wake him up faster. Quickly getting dressed and grabbing his book bag he hurried downstairs and into the kitchen and dining room. As fast as he possibly could, he sat down at the table and gobbled up the food his mother had prepared for him.

He had an average home. A two bedroom, two bath, townhouse with a living room and kitchen-dining area on the ground floor as well as a basement.

He had an average family. A stay-at-home mom who looked after the household and took care of her only child, Tsukune, and a hardworking businessman of a father who spent most of his time in the office in his efforts to provide for his family.

They lived in an average neighborhood. Nice neighbors, relative safety in terms of crime rate, and a modest average household income.

Tsukune gulped down the entire glass of water and stood up, quickly grabbing his book bag and swinging it over his shoulder he began to head for the door.

"Tsukune! I made your lunch. Don't forget it, dear."

"Thanks mother!" he said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle. How could he forget that? As he got the packed lunch he glanced at the clock on the wall and yelped. "Oh crap! Is that really the time? I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late!" he said in a panic as he rushed to the door.

His mother watched all of this as she began to clear away the remains of his breakfast with a smile and let out a small giggle. "Be safe now, dear! Enjoy your first day at school!" she called out after him as the door was closing.

Completely normal. Yes indeed.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka Akashiya opened her eyes slowly and raised her arms above her head to stretch. Her body immediately felt nice and warm as blood rushed around. She smiled and turned over on her side, watching the alarm clock next to her bed change from 5:59 to 6:00am.

She never needed an alarm, always waking up a few minutes before whatever time she needed to. Almost as if her body had its own internal alarm clock. And for the last fourteen years it had not failed her. Not even once. Today was no different.

And yet, today was in fact _very _different.

She looked up at the ceiling of her room and smiled. "Today is my first day of high school!" she yelled happily.

A quick trip to the bathroom and she was brushing her teeth and getting ready for the day. Her green eyes watched herself in the mirror as her right hand used the toothbrush to clean her teeth while her left hand began to straighten out and fix her pink hair.

The sight of it made her remember all the teasing she had endured throughout junior high. She could never understand why, but her classmates had always made fun of her and played pranks on her. In the end she ended up hating school and having no friends, concentrating solely on her studies. Eventually, she moved again after graduating from junior high.

So here she was today, getting ready for her first day of high school. A fresh start.

_Again_, she thought but then quickly brushed any such negative thoughts out of her mind. No. She did not want to start such a great day on a bad note. She started to hum happily as she finished getting ready.

Eventually she made her way downstairs and started cooking her breakfast. Or at least tried to.

"Oh! This is so frustrating!" she cried out to no one in particular, pouting as she overcooked and burned the eggs. "Well... I guess I can just..." she said as she held a finger up to her lips in contemplation.

Opening the refrigerator, she grabbed two cans of tomato juice.

"One for breakfast and one for lunch," she said out loud and gave an approving nod.

A moment later and she threw an empty can of juice into the trash. Packing the other can of juice as well as a ham and cheese sandwich she had quickly prepared in case she was a bit hungrier today than usual. Satisfied, she grabbed her packed lunch and looked up at the clock.

It was 6:15am.

She left the house, making sure to lock it and pocket her key, and began to walk to school. But it was only a few minutes later that she realized she forgot something really important.

"My suitcase!" she blurted out all of a sudden, confusing a few passersby.

_Oh no! This means I'll be late, _she thought miserably as she ran back home.

Things seemed pretty normal for Moka too.

-**xxxxxx**-

_Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Craaaaap! I am so late!_ Tsukune thought as he ran to school.

Turning a corner, he finally caught sight of the gate to the school and started running even faster.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka was running as fast as she could, her long pink hair flowing wildly behind her.

_This isn't happening! _she thought, _First day of school and you're late! Imagine what all your classmates will think of you! and your teacher! _

Catching sight of the school she ran even harder.

-**xxxxxx**-

Neither of them noticed the other, so intent were they on getting to class that it was only when they were practically a foot away from each other that they saw one another. And by then it was way too late. Arriving at the gates at exactly the same time, they tried to slow down and avoid each other but their fast-moving bodies eventually slammed into each other. Physics, and more specifically gravity, did the rest.

"Ow!" they yelped in unison as they tumbled into a heap.

For a moment Tsukune felt disoriented and breathing hard. His lungs and legs burned and sweat covered his face. He slowly realized he was on the ground and tried to wipe some of the sweat away from his face when he then realized his right arm was stuck under something. Finally, he noticed the nice pair of pink panties that obstructed his view.

_Wait, panties...? _he thought as his eyes widened and his face flushed. He realized what had happened.

Moka was pretty much in the same boat in terms of confusion, though not as aware of the awkwardness of the situation as Tsukune was when she realized her predicament. She rubbed her side where something, or someone, had run into her and then rubbed her bum because she seemed to have landed on something.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" she suddenly cried as she got off of him and knelt by him.

Blood was coming out from his nose and his face was really flushed. His eyes seemed far off as if he were in a daze.

"Are you alright?" she leaned over him, her green eyes wide as they scrutinized him worriedly.

"I-I'm fine!" he managed to finally say, closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck. Upon opening them he realized that her face was right in front of his own, and he could feel the heat coming from his cheeks as his heart beat quickly and loudly in his chest.

_What is she doing? Why is she so close? _he thought, panicked. _And she's so incredibly beautiful too! Who is this girl? _

Moka sniffed at him.

Tsukune couldn't believe what he had just seen, and he was not talking about the fact that he saw her underwear. _Did she just... sniff me? _

Moka sniffed again. _His scent... it's so... it's so good. _She sniffed one more time, taking it in. And though she tried to fight the urge, she knew she was failing miserably.

"I'm sorry!" she said again before lunging at him and biting his neck.

"Owwww!" he cried again, more from shock than pain really. _What the... _but before he could recover from the shock and finish his train of thought she had already pulled away from him.

Her green eyes locked with his brown ones. She tilted her head and smiled, her eyes closing and her pink hair shifting from the movement. She found him to be very cute. _And on top of that, his blood... it tastes SO good!_

Again her beauty took his breath and thoughts away and all he could do was look at her. _Man she's so beautiful._

"I'm so so sorry," she spoke, breaking the silence and bringing her two index fingers together in front of her, "I hope you'll forgive me... I couldn't stop myself! Oh, my name is Moka Akashiya! What's... what's yours?"

_Her voice is so incredibly cute too! Gosh, is this girl really talking to me? _he thought. _Wow. Does she go here? I wonder what year she's in.._

"Is there something wrong?" she tilted her head the other way this time, eyes filled with concern and... _was that fear? _he thought, but it disappeared as quickly as it had flashed out.

He finally found his voice again, "N-No! No! Everything's fine! It's okay. Sorry too, I guess," he said, rubbing the back of his neck again and laughing forcefully. Then he turned a bit more serious, "My name... well, my name is Tsukune Aono. Pleased to meet you, Moka!"

She giggled and blushed slightly, though Tsukune didn't catch the blushing.

"Are you... a student here?" she ventured to ask.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm a first year."

"Hey me too!"

_YES!_ they both thought.

"What class are you in?" she asked.

He thought for a moment, "Oh, I think I'm in 1-E this year."

"Me too!"

Another joyous mental celebration occurred for the both of them.

"Oh crap..." Tsukune suddenly remembered.

Moka looked at him just as horrified, "We're late!" She stood up and, gathering her things, she grabbed his hand and ran off.

Neither of them really realized that they were still holding hands when they walked into class late and started apologizing.

"Ah," said the teacher, a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair, "Glad you could join us Mr. Aono and Ms. Akashiya. Please don't be late again."

They apologized one more time.

There was some scattered laughter.

"You'll be glad to know that you'll be sitting next to each other, seeing as how those are the last two seats available since everyone else was on time," she said pointedly, giving them a look.

They both looked away and let go of the other's hand, blushing furiously.

The class laughed.

They took their seats in the back left corner of the class, both of them in the last row. Their eyes met and both quickly looked away as the teacher went on to explain school rules and resources as well as class procedures and scheduling.

"Now before I let you all go, I think it's time we heard from our two lovebirds there in the back," said the teacher.

Again there was more blushing and laughter.

"While I was taking roll and you were conveniently out of the classroom doing god knows what," she grinned, "I had each person stand up, say their name, share a hobby and their favorite food." She looked at Moka. "Miss Akashiya, if you would please? Ladies first after all."

"Oh, o-okay!" she said, her tone of voice clearly conveying she was very nervous. She brought a hand up close to her chin, clenched lightly into a fist, as she spoke. "My name is Moka Akashiya. I... uhh.." she struggled for a second, "I like to... study?"

"Did she just say study?"

"Wow, what a total nerd!"

"Man, she's pretty damn cute though!"

"But what's with the pink hair?"

The class murmured amongst themselves some more.

Tsukune for his part said nothing, though he noticed how Moka's body language had changed from nervousness to outright fear. She was practically shaking as she continued.

"And... and... my favorite food is blood! I mean tomato j-juice!" her voice shook slightly, "Er, I mean steak! I love steak..." she trailed off.

There was more murmuring.

"Did she just say blood?"

"What the hell? Does she think she's some kind of vampire or something?"

"What a weirdo!"

"Those green eyes with her pink hair are kinda strange..."

Moka immediately sat down and Tsukune swore she was going to start bawling. But she never did. She crossed her arms on her desk and put her head down, though before she hid her face completely Tsukune saw her eyes get watery.

"Well, Mr. Aono? It's your turn."

He stood up, "My name is Tsukune Aono. I love to swim and my favorite food happens to be steak too, though I also love the rice balls my mom makes. They're absolutely the best!"

There were a few remarks ("ha! what a dweeb!" and "well, swimming is better than studying", but definitely far fewer than the ones Moka had received when she was introducing herself.

The teacher smiled and nodded, "Thank you to the both of you. Now class, please proceed to the auditorium for the Orientation Ceremony. After which you'll be dismissed..."

-**xxxxxx**-

The rest of the day was pretty boring and they were let out by noon time since the first day of school was mostly orientation and introductions. Throughout the day Tsukune slowly made a few friends in the class, though he always glanced over to Moka's direction every five minutes. The girl had spoken to very few people, and those that she had talked to he noticed walked away from her. It was as if they wanted nothing to do with her.

Tsukune seemingly was the only one who could see the tears that she tried to carefully hide. The way she lowered her head and seemed to try to blend into the wall, the floor, or even into her seat. The way she would glance up now and then when someone would pass close by to her, hoping perhaps that they would speak to her, but then sinking her head down again as they completely ignored her.

Well, not _everyone _ignored her.

Tsukune was talking to some guys he was befriending when he glanced over to see three guys surrounding Moka.

"Hey cutie. You must be new around here, I never saw you in middle school..." said one of them.

She nodded, saying nothing.

"Well, we just wanted to let you know that you're really _really_ cute."

She looked up and smiled slightly, "Thank you.."

"Now if you'd just let us..." said one of the guys as he reached a hand towards her, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Don't!" she squeaked and pushed through them, running away.

Two of the three started to run after her, but the boy who had started it all and seemingly the leader grabbed their shirts. "Forget it, she's not worth it. Besides, she'll be back so it's not worth the effort of running after her right now."

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune excused himself from his newly made friends and ran after her. Nobody really paid attention that he did.

"Moka!" he yelled, "Moka! Hold on!"

He followed her off school grounds and to a small, nearby park. He found her sitting on a swing, tears flowing freely from her eyes, sobbing uncontrollably. He approached her slowly, making sure to not alarm her. But she did not seem to notice him at all. So lost was she in her tears that she didn't even realize he was standing right in front of her.

He crouched lower, having to look up now to see her face.

Her eyes were closed. Tears streamed down her face, her cheeks were all wet, and her skirt was getting a few dark patches. She was gripping the chains that held the swing up so hard that her knuckles were white. Her body was racked with sobs. She looked like a total mess.

"Moka," he said, his voice barely a whisper as he realized how terrible this day had been for her.

He reached out and placed a hand gently on her knee.

She finally realized he was there and looked at him, first with alarm and then... _relief? _He wasn't sure.

Without warning she launched herself off the swing and into him, toppling the two of them into the thankfully soft ground. Her arms wrapped around him tightly and she cried openly into his chest. Her sobs came less frequently, muffled into his shirt.

"Shhh... shh.." he said, remembering those times when he would be crying and his mother or his cousin, Kyoko, would comfort him. "It's okay, Moka. It's okay... Let it out... You'll be okay..." He wrapped his own arms around her, gently, which elicited a tighter hug from the pink-haired girl.

He breathed in and her scent made itself aware to him. _She smells very pleasant, _he thought. From then on every breath he took he noticed her scent. It was very pleasant indeed.

He did not know how he had gotten himself into this situation. Who ever thought that a shy young boy like him would, on the first day of high school, suddenly be the one comforting a crying, beautiful young girl he had only met that same day? He honestly had no idea what he was doing, but he had a feeling that what he was doing was the right thing and that's all that mattered.

-**xxxxxx**-

He did not know how long they lay there on the ground in the middle of a small, thankfully deserted park.

At one point or another her sobs and shaking had stopped, then the crying, and eventually the tightness of the hug lessened. Tsukune could feel the heavy, wet patch in the middle of his shirt. Her tears had soaked through and his skin was also damp. Not that it really mattered to him that his shirt and chest were very wet. After all, there was a crying girl to take care of.

He felt her lips move and heard her mumble something, breaking himself away from his thoughts.

"What was that, Moka?" he asked softly.

She gulped. "I'm sorry.." she whispered.

He did not understand this girl at all. Why was she apologizing to him? She was the victim here after all.

"No need to apologize, Moka. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I did..."

"No," he stated firmly, "You didn't. Those guys in our class were being jerks."

She said nothing more.

They lay there for another few minutes before she slowly let go of him and got off of him. "Thank you, Tsukune," she whispered to him, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. She realized how much of a mess she was at the moment and it made her feel embarrassed. _Especially in front of the only boy who had been nice to me so far! Oh I'm so terrible..._

_Her skin is so soft,_ he thought approvingly as her warm hands held one of his own. _At least she's not crying anymore. _

She suddenly stood up albeit a bit shakily, "I'm so sorry!" she said for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day and ran off.

He sat up and watched her leave, unsure if he should follow or not. He decided on the latter; she seemed like she needed some space now. Besides, he had done enough already comforting her here. He sighed and leaned forward, bringing his legs close to his chest as he ran a hand through his hair and then started rubbing the back of his neck.

As he stood up he took one last look at the swing and spotted something on the ground.

"She forgot her suitcase..." he said out loud, his gaze drifting back to the direction she had run off to.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka Akashiya lay in her bed, hugging one of her stuffed animals. It was a big fluffy cat that she loved to hug because it was, well, so damned huggable. She thought she would cry some more but she didn't. Strangely enough she felt a little better already.

_Strange_... she thought. Usually when she cried like that it would wreck her mood for the rest of the day, with each hour getting progressively worse. She didn't want to admit it but in the back of her mind she knew this was going to happen somehow. She always managed to screw up, or at least that's what other people made her feel or think. It was always something that she did or said that made everyone around her dislike her. And while that went according to plan, one thing did not. Something had happened very differently today.

She had cried. But she had not been alone.

_Why? _she thought _Why would he do that? _

The doorbell ringing made her jump from total surprise, elevating her heartbeat and widening her eyes. Her mind began to race. _Who could that be? Nobody ever came to see her... this must be bad. This might be father... or maybe.._

Ding-dong-ding-dong! chimed the doorbell, a little too happily for her at the moment.

Still hugging her cat doll she slowly made her way to the front door. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to gather herself before taking the last step towards the door. Unlocking it, she slowly opened, making sure that the chain lock was still on. She opened the door just enough for her to see who it was.

And she was at a loss for words.

"Hey, Moka. Sorry to disturb you, but..." he trailed off and started fake laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck with one arm. His other arm rose to eye-level.

_My suitcase! _she thought. _He came to... to give me back my suitcase! I must have left it at the park... _

She could only look in wonder as this young boy made yet another amazingly nice gesture to her. Anyone else would have probably left that suitcase there, or even taken it themselves. At least that's what she thought.

"Tsukune," she managed to say.

There was a rather awkward silence as they stood there separated by the chained door.

"Well, uhhh... hehe... I should get going. I guess I'll leave this here..." he put the suitcase down in front of the door. "Umm... see you tomorrow?" He quickly walked away.

He was no more than roughly a dozen feet away when the door was unchained, opened, and a voice called out to him, "Tsukune?"

He stopped and turned.

"Thank you."

Then she was gone, the door slamming shut.

She clutched her cat doll and her suitcase as she walked back upstairs to her room.

What a first day.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I really love this anime and would like to write a few more stories about it. This is my first foray into this though so please be gentle!


	2. Friendship

**Beneath the Surface**

Friendship

* * *

In class the next morning, Tsukune and Moka were thankfully on time. Moka had been there first, her notebook and a pen already out on her desk as Tsukune walked in. A few people he had befriended yesterday waved and nodded to him as he entered and he returned their greetings. He arrived at his desk and placed his book bag down, glancing at the pink-haired girl sitting next to him.

She seemed to be fine this morning. No traces of what happened yesterday lingered on her face.

_That's good_, he thought, hoping that what had happened would not repeat itself.

"Oh, hi Tsukune!" she greeted him with a genuine smile.

He jumped a little, startled as he realized he had been staring at her. "Uh h-hi Moka!" Bending down he pulled out his own notebook and writing utensils and sat down. He did not look her way again as he was a little embarrassed at having been caught staring at her, nor did he try to bring up the subject of what happened yesterday. After all, he felt that it was something that shouldn't be brought up, especially so soon after the fact.

Moka seemed to notice he was trying to ignore her and she frowned ever so slightly, feeling sad. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the teacher walked into the room. Class was about to begin. She would have to wait until later.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka ventured to try talking to some of the girls in class again during lunch. She approached a group of three girls in the cafeteria, all of them brunettes. Even though she had walked right up to them, they did not recognize her presence. At least not until she spoke to them.

"Excuse me," she said meekly, "Would it be okay if I ate lunch with you guys?" she looked down, "I mean... we're in the same class and all... and I want to make some new friends..."

The three girls looked at her, then at each other and then laughed. "Look weirdo, we don't really want to associate with you. Everyone knows you're a freak... what with your pink hair and that strange-looking cross necklace you've got."

"Yeah, no thanks," added another girl, looking her up and down and shaking her head.

The third girl seemed slightly appalled at her friends' treatment of Moka, but she did not want to go against them so she simply shook her head at her and said "Sorry."

Moka wandered to an empty table with downcast eyes and sat all by herself, taking out her lunch and eating silently. The cafeteria was bustling with conversation and activity, yet here she was all alone. She felt like life was being cruel to her. Here she was surrounded by so many people and yet feeling so very alone.

"...Moka!"

Her head lifted up. _Is someone calling my name? _She could not have imagined it. Or could she have?

"Hey Moka!" a familiar voice greeted her.

She looked around and spotted Tsukune walking over with a tray along with somebody else. They stopped right by where she was sitting.

"Do you... uh.. mind if we eat with you?" he asked.

The other boy leaned close to him and whispered something, though Moka didn't quite catch what he said. Only the word "sorry," was what she managed to hear. And with that the other boy left to go eat with some other people. She looked at Tsukune's face and he could tell he was a little annoyed, but he quickly put on a smile when he noticed she was looking at him.

"Well, I guess it's just me then."

Moka couldn't help but smile. "Thank you..." _Again, _she add in her thoughts.

He laughed, "No worries, Moka. I don't like it when people eat alone anyways. Besides, I'd... well..."

"Yeah?" she coaxed him, eager to hear what he had to say.

He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly, "Well, I'd like to get to know you better too... that's all."

She smiled again.

They ate in silence for a while as neither of them really knew what to talk about. It was dragging on so long things were beginning to feel very awkward.

"So you _do _like tomato juice."

"Huh?" she tilted her head as she sipped on some juice, not hearing what he had said.

"Oh nothing," he chuckled, "I just remember that you said one of your favorite foods was tomato juice... though you later said steak." _And before that you said blood... _his subconscious reminded him and he wondered about that but didn't bring it up.

She nodded, "Yeah, I love it! It tastes so good."

He smiled, "I guess."

Another moment of silence passed with Tsukune devouring the sandwiches his mom had made and Moka finishing her juice.

She noticed that he seemed troubled, so she asked what was bothering him.

"Don't worry about it! Heh heh... it's nothing, really."

"No, it's okay Tsukune. You can tell me, I really want to know."

He sighed, "Well, I was a bit worried about... I mean, you didn't really eat much. Are you feeling okay? Is your stomach hurting? I can take you to the nurse's office if you'd like." He blurted out that last part really fast and blushed slightly. His mouth had gone off faster than his mind.

She couldn't help but feel appreciative of his concern for her but she assured him that she was okay. "I... I try not to eat too much."

"Oh. I see." He nodded. "Dieting? Trying to keep your figure and all that? I get it."

"Ummm... sure. Yes, that's it."

The bell sounded, indicating that it was time to get back to class. Standing in unison, they cleaned up and left the cafeteria. They walked back to class side-by-side in silence.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune stretched in his seat and yawned as the dismissal bell finished ringing and decided it would be nice to take a nap as soon as he got home. He was packing his things and readying to leave when he felt a tapping on his shoulder.

"Hm?" he half-turned to see who it was.

Moka had her hands clasped together in front of her chest, her green eyes looking at him. "Hey, Tsukune. Are you... are you busy right now?" She seemed a bit nervous about something.

He thought for a moment, "No, not really. Why? What's up Moka?"

"Would it be okay with you if... we walked home together? I mean, that is... unless you don't want to or if it's too far out of the way or anything. I mean, you don't have to feel obliged.." she looked like she was going to keep talking when Tsukune raised a hand and stopped her.

He smiled, "We can walk home together. You're kind of on the way to my house anyways so it's not out of the way at all." What he really should have said was that she was in fact on the opposite side of the school from where he lived, but he could tell this would make her happy and that it meant a lot to her. After seeing what she endured yesterday, he figured it was the least he could do to help her feel better.

"That's great to hear, Tsukune!" she replied with a smile, reaching for her suitcase and holding it in both hands in front of her she looked back at him. "I'm ready whenever you are."

He gathered his things and they walked out together.

-**xxxxxx**-

"So tell me, Moka. What's one of your _real _hobbies?" Tsukune asked her as they slowly walked home together. He adjusted his backpack a little as the way it had been originally was a little uncomfortable.

"A real hobby?" she repeat the question back at him quizzically.

"Well you said in class that a hobby of yours is studying... I mean, that's not a real hobby now is it? Hobbies are supposed to be things you like to do other than studying!"

"Well..." trailing off, she put her right index finger up to her mouth and looked deep in thought. "I do like to cook. And I like watching movies too. Do those count?"

He smiled and nodded, "Mhmm, those count." He placed both hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "So what's your favorite dish to cook?"

"I... I mean, I like the _idea _of cooking, but I'm actually pretty terrible," Moka admitted sadly and looked away embarrassed. "I tried to cook eggs yesterday and I really burned them."

"You _burned _eggs?" he asked in complete surprise. He didn't know it was possible to burn eggs. Overcooking he had heard of, but to actually burn the eggs? How could that possibly happen?

"Yeahh.." she looked down, clutching her suitcase with both hands, "I'm really horrible at cooking."

Tsukune glanced at her, "Don't worry. It just takes time and practice to get better. I'm sure you'll be a great cook some day."

"You think so?"

"Yep! I believe in you, Moka. And you should believe in yourself too, that's most important. Like my dad says," and he set his voice an octave lower, " 'Tsukune, it's great to have other people believe in you, but it's most important to believe in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.' "

Moka gave him a happy look, "Wow. Your dad sounds very nice." There was a momentary pause before she added quietly, "I bet your dad is so proud of you."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!" came the swift reply.

"So what kinds of movies do you like?" Tsukune said, changing the subject. They were nearing her house already.

Moka looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, I really like romantic movies and comedies. But I do enjoy an action flick or two now and then to spice things up!" She smiled and cocked her head to the side as she said that. "What about you, Tsukune?"

_She looks so damned cute when she does that! _he thought as he looked away, cheeks slightly flushed.

"I definitely love action movies! Especially superhero ones, like The Avengers or Iron Man - my two recent favorites. I do enjoy some good horror movies too, and everyone loves comedies."

There was silence as they finally arrived in front of her home. They stopped and faced each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Uh," Tsukune started, "Looks like we're here! Heh heh.." he rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly.

"Right," Moka acknowledged, taking a quick glance at her home then back at Tsukune, "Thanks for walking me home, Tsukune! It was so nice of you."

He smiled, "Anytime, Moka."

Their eyes locked and for a moment neither of them looked away, and then they both glanced elsewhere at the same time.

"I better get going," Tsukune mentioned, eliciting furious nodding from Moka.

"Right! Yeah! Good bye!" she said in quick succession. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

She paused in front of the gate and looked back at Tsukune, whose eyes were on hers. Acting fast before she lost her courage, she closed the distance between them and gave him a tight hug that lasted a few seconds before she let go of him. The look of surprise on his face did not go away.

"Thanks," she whispered, "For being my friend." With that she went through her gate and then to the front door, fumbling for the keys.

He watched, still surprised, as she walked through the gate and up the steps to her front door before he finally forced himself to turn away and start walking.

She dropped her keys because her hands were shaking. Crouching down, she picked them up again and got the door unlocked. She paused and looked behind her, a small part of her expecting to see Tsukune still there. A tinge of disappointment welled up inside her when she saw that he was not.

-**xxxxxx**-

Two weeks went by, and it was pretty much the same routine every day - save for the weekends of course. Ever since that fateful first day that they met, Tsukune and Moka always arrived together on time to class. They ate every lunch together and even walked home together. They began to learn more about each other and feel warmer and more open. They were becoming close friends. And that made Moka one very happy girl.

Tsukune too was very happy about it, though his other friends were not so positive about the whole situation.

One Saturday, Tsukune was invited to go to the pool with a few friends of his and he happily agreed to join them. They met up at Tsukune's house and then went off to walk to the local pool, which was only a few blocks away from his house.

Tsukune walked between his good friends Rocca and Saito, to his left and right respectively. Rocca was a very chubby boy who wore loose-fitting clothing that made him look kind of like a bum. In truth, he was actually pretty wealthy since both of his parents were in banking, but because of his weight most people didn't want to associate with him at their school.

Saito was a big and muscular guy. A bonafide jock, to be perfectly accurate, and he was also surprisingly a huge video game nerd. That was partly why he hung out with Tsukune and Rocca, since they too were into video games. The other reason was that he was not as prejudiced and stuck up as most of the other kids at their school. Even though he was pretty cool and accepted in his own right due to his athletic prowess as well as his physical traits, he did not adhere to the prejudiced thinking of his fellow classmates.

The unfortunate truth about their school was that many of the students there operated their social lives through one system: judging other people's worth by what they looked like. It irritated Tsukune and his friends to no end, but there was nothing they could do to change the culture there. The best they could do was to keep to themselves, which often meant that they were left alone and ignored.

"Hey Tsukune, are you still hanging out with that pink-haired girl?" asked Saito out of the blue as they rounded a corner.

Tsukune nodded, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Do you like her or something?" Rocca asked suddenly, elbowing him slightly in the ribs and giving him a smirk.

Tsukune brushed him off, rolling his eyes as he said, "No! I mean, yes I do like her. But as a friend, nothing more. Honest!"

"Oh _really_?" Rocca teased, "Tsukune and Moka sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-" but he didn't get to finish as Tsukune smacked him on the back of the head.

Glaring at Rocca, Tsukune crossed his arms, "Would you please stop that. I don't want to have to hit you again."

"Ow! That hurt, Tsukune!" Rocca protested, rubbing the back of his head with a pudgy hand.

Turning his attention back to Saito, Tsukune asked him again what he was getting at.

Saito asked him in a serious tone, "How much do you know about her anyway?"

The question was somewhat off-putting because he did not have a ready answer. Tsukune wasn't sure how to respond to that. He felt like he knew her, and yet at the same time he realized he barely did. "What do you mean, Saito?"

Saito sighed and looked over at him, "I mean how much do you actually know about her? Her family? What she does when outside of school? Have you even seen her parents or any relatives at all?"

Tsukune looked down at the pavement as he contemplated that question. How much did he really know about her? He knew that she didn't like to swim, having asked her to join them but she refused adamantly, though also apologetically. He knew some other likes and dislikes. That aside from studying she likes to watch movies or draw. That her favorite color is red. That she liked tomato juice. He hadn't even seen a glimpse of her parents and he had walked her home for the last two weeks. He rattled off in his head a few more such seemingly trivial things about her that he knew and he realized he didn't really know her as well as he had originally thought he had.

He finally looked up, realizing that Saito and Rocca were talking about something else already since he had remained silent for a while. He interrupted them however, "I... I guess I don't know her that well. I don't really know about her family or what she does other than the times we've hung out, and that's mostly been at school." That made him slightly uneasy admitting that.

Saito scratched the side of his head and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Ahhh.. I figured as much... plus, as you know, a lot of people don't like her..."

Tsukune snorted at that statement and cut him off, "They don't even know her and yet they dislike her. She's very sweet and nice and friendly. You guys would like her if you'd just give her a chance!" _And so damned cute!_ he thought, not wanting to say that out loud.

"I know, man. I know. Though you shouldn't forget that you don't even really know her and yet you do like her. Honestly, I'm sure she's great because I mean you're a good guy so I think you're a good judge of character but..."

"But?"

"But I've been hearing things about her.."

"What things?" Tsukune asked, confused. He hadn't heard any rumors about her at all, though that might have been because he was so busy between schoolwork, hanging out with his friends, and spending time with Moka, all of which usually meant he was away from most people.

Saito sighed again, almost regretfully, "I don't know how else to say this but.. Some people are saying that Moka is mentally off. That she's hiding something that's supposedly pretty bad, you know? and that's one of the main reasons no one wants to be her friend. She's already got a pretty bad rep, and with you hanging out with her... they might target you next."

Tsukune stopped in his tracks and his friends walked on for a bit before stopping and turning to look at him, surprised and curious looks on their faces. He looked at each of them and as sincerely as he could possibly make it sound, he said. "Look, Saito. When have I ever thought about other people's opinion of me? I don't really care what other people think of me. I'll continue to hang out with her because I want to and because she's great. If they want to spread false rumors about me too, I don't care so long as they don't do anything to physically hurt me or her. Sticks and stones, you know?"

Rocca nodded in agreement, "You've got that right, buddy! I mean, I have the same mindset... so I'll be here for you."

Saito slowly gave a nod as well, though not as enthusiastically. "I know you don't care, and I know it shouldn't matter. And it doesn't. I'm just letting you know what people are saying and what might happen. To give you a heads up, you know? Of course I'll be here for you man, we're friends after all. It's just that... I hope the rumors about her aren't true. Because if they are, well... I'd be really worried if I were you."

Tsukune started walking again, his pace a bit quicker, friends in tow. They started talking about video games as he lost himself in thought, though every so often they would share a look and give him a concerned look.

_Who are you really, Moka? _he wondered. Saito's words echoed in his mind and he could not help but be unsettled by them.

He made a deicision to get to know her better. He had to. Why? Because he wanted to become better friends with her, and to also quiet down the sudden gnawing of doubts and uneasiness that were clawing at him. _She's just a normal girl who is a little misunderstood, that's all, _he thought with a little conviction. He really hoped that was the truth.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Two things - 1) this is obviously pretty AU and 2) I haven't read the manga so I'm basing this off of what I've seen in the anime version.

_(edited - 6/17/2013)_


	3. Study Date

**Beneath the Surface**

Study Date

* * *

Tsukune Aono woke up with a few minutes to spare before his alarm clock went off. Once again he was right on schedule to get to class on time. Every day after the very first day of school when he had been late, he had been very punctual. He was very proud of that fact, and so was his mother, Kasumi.

Kasumi observed her son carefully as he ate his breakfast at a normal pace. It was refreshing to see him be so responsible and disciplined with regards to waking up and getting to school on time. He had never been like that before, which made her wonder what made him change.

She thought for a moment that perhaps her little Tsukune had found a girlfriend, a good enough explanation for such a dramatic change in her son's behavior, but she dismissed that thought. While she loved her son and he was quite a nice boy, she knew that he was very shy and not particularly good with the ladies. There was simply no way.

_Still_, she thought as she watched him finish his meal from the corner of her eye as she cleaned up in the kitchen, _Something or someone has made him change. Not that I don't like it, but I do wonder what the reason behind this is. _Perhaps some of his friends were beginning to have some good influences on him. She had met Rocca and Saito, both of them very nice like her own son. She could see how they would be friends.

Minutes later, he was bidding her goodbye and walking out the door with a cheery smile.

She watched him leave, still wondering.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka put down her pen, having finished writing another letter to her father. She liked to keep him updated on her life away from home. She looked it over again to make sure everything was perfect before she placed it into an envelope and sealed it. Her father had never once replied to her, but she knew that he read them. She wondered if he shared her letters with the rest of her family and thought that he probably did not. He wasn't exactly the

She was very soon out the door with her suitcase in one hand and packed lunch in the other, ready for another day of school.

As with every early morning walk to school, her thoughts turned to Tsukune. The only friend she had. While most people would think that a sad thing, she was extremely happy that she had him. She wasn't sure what she would do without him. She had always felt so alone, with no one really accepting her because of her looks or what she said or how she acted. Ever since she left home to live on her own she has questioned whether it was the right decision. She had not been accepted by anyone. Not until Tsukune.

As if on cue, Moka spotted the familiar figure of Tsukune Aono in front of her as they neared the gates to the school.

"Tsukune! Tsukune!" she called out to him, breaking out into a jog.

He turns around with a big smile on since he knew it was her from the sound of her voice. "Hi Moka! Ahh!"

She greets him with the usual big hug that sends him stumbling back a little as she half jumps onto him, which he always enjoys though he feels heat on his cheeks every time.

_He smells so good today_, she thought as she let go of him. The urge resurfaced again and began to grow in her, but she forced it down. She couldn't do it. If she did it again he might get scared away, and then where would she be? At least he did not seem to remember or think much of the first time she bit him.

Her green eyes met his brown ones and they stood there for a few seconds grinning stupidly at each other before they looked down and away with embarrassment. They then made their way into school, walking all the way to their classroom and sitting together in the back row like they always did.

As the lecture neared its end, Tsukune was again spacing out. His eyes drifting to over to the window to look outside. It looked like it was going to rain. He frowned at that observation since he had neglected to bring his umbrella. He hoped it would not rain too hard.

As his thoughts continued to focus on the weather and the world outside the classroom in general, his mind was recalled back to the classroom upon hearing the dreaded words he hadn't heard so far this year: "... and as you know the first round of tests will begin next week. I hope you've been studying, class!"

The teacher grins knowingly. Half of the class has not even begun to study and a quarter are behind on schoolwork for sure. That quarter included one young boy named Tsukune Aono.

_Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh craaap! I forgot about the tests! I'm so behind on my schoolwork! _thought Tsukune in a panic, his eyes filled with dismay. He had this weekend to study and he couldn't put it off any longer otherwise he'd fail those tests. He grumbled at the thought of spending his entire weekend studying but it had to be done.

Moka tugged on his shirt just as the lunch bell rang. She leaned over from her seat to get closer to him, their sudden closeness made him forget about the tests for a moment and think only of her.

"Tsukune?"

"Yes, Moka?"

"I was hoping... that we could study for the tests together. Is that alright?" she asked him hopefully.

_Wow, it's like she read my mind or something... _he thought and he grinned at her, "Of course, Moka! That sounds like a great idea!"

Her mouth stretched into a wide smile, showing perfect white teeth. "Great!" she followed up by asking him when he wanted to get started. "If you want, we could start later today."

Tsukune sighed. He was hoping to take the rest of today off, it being Friday after all, and start studying tomorrow but he knew it would be best to start studying that very same day. Resigned to an entire weekend of hitting the books, he nodded, "Sure thing, Moka. Would you like me to go over to your house or would you prefer to come to mine?"

Moka thought for a moment. "Well," she paused, "You can come straight after school to my home since you walk me back anyways." Her eyes suddenly lit up, "And I can cook you some dinner! I've been practicing."

He smiled genuinely, "I'd like that."

Ever since Saito had spoken to him about Moka, he had been a bit wary and curious of her. But he could not see how any of those rumors about Moka could be true. He had resolved to get to know her better and to find out for himself the truth about Moka Akashiya, but at the same time he did not want to push her too hard on trying to open up else suffer pushing her away from him.

That afternoon, as the final bell rang out the school day, Tsukune and Moka continued to follow their routine by walking home together. On their way out of school, Tsukune pulled out his phone. He had to call home to talk to his parents about his study session with Moka.

Dialing the number, he wondered what his parents would think of him studying for tests at Moka's house. Knowing his parents, they would be both happy and worried. Happy that he was making friends at this new school, particularly with girls, and worried that he was growing up too fast and that this might be more than studying.

As the phone began to ring, he looked to Moka with that last thought in mind.

_Her interested in being more than a friend with me? Yeah right. _He laughed at the thought in his head.

"Hello?" his mother's voice answered through the phone.

"Hey, mama."

Recognizing her son's voice, she began to worry. "Why are you calling home? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"Calm down, mama. I'm fine. I was calling to let you know that because I have some tests next week I _really _need to study. A friend of mine offered to study all weekend together so we could both do well, so I won't be home until probably late tonight," he explained, making an effort not to say who his friend is.

There was a moment of silence, though Tsukune could barely hear an audible sigh of relief. "Okay, dear. But what about your dinner?"

"It's okay, she said she'd cook for me." Big mistake.

"SHE? You're studying with a girl at her house? Is she your girlfriend?" His mother couldn't believe it. Her little Tsukune had a girlfriend! "How could you not tell me?"

Tsukune shushed her, "Mama! It's not like that. We're good friends and we want to do well on our tests next week so we're studying together."

"Okay, hun. Well, I'll be sure to save you some leftovers if you come back and decide you're still hungry," she said.

"Thank you, mama."

"I hope I'll be meeting your girlfriend some day soon, okay?"

"Bye Mamaaa!" he said with slight annoyance and embarrassment. He glanced over to Moka, thankful that she had not heard a word his mother had said.

As soon as he hung up, she started to giggle and Tsukune wondered if she had heard the conversation after all.

He gulped, "Wh-what's so funny, M-Moka?"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled, "You call your mother, mama! That's so cute!"

-**xxxxxx**-

They arrived at her home, a nice townhouse with two floors. Quite similar to Tsukune's actually. It was not lost on Moka that this was the first time ever that she had brought anybody unrelated to her back with her to where she had lived. She hesitated a moment, wondering if... No, she would wait to tell him. He didn't need to know just yet.

Her key turned in the lock and she opened the door, turning and smiling at Tsukune. "Welcome to my home!"

Tsukune was actually quite impressed with the place. From the outside the townhouse looked like any other normal home, but on the inside it seemed the place was tricked out! He wondered what Moka's parents did for a living because they seemed to be quite wealthy from what he was seeing.

Expensive-looking everything was everywhere. From the furniture to the carpeting and even the light fixtures.

"Wow, Moka. Your home is really nice!" He said that with sincerity.

Like most townhouses in the area, the home had an open floor plan. The front door opened up to a little entry way, where they took off their shoes. Walking further in Tsukune found himself in a living room slash dining room at the back corner of which were stairs leading up to the second floor, no doubt where the bedrooms were located. In the opposite back corner was the kitchen.

It was so shiny with the nice marble counter-tops, brand new stainless steel appliances, and nice dark wood for the cabinets.

She blushed slightly, "Ohh, it's not much really. It's only where I live in the city. You should see the house where I grew up!"

Tsukune faced her. "Oh? Where's that?"

Her eyes went wide at that and she quickly changed the subject, "Uh, it's not that important right now. How about you get ready over on the dining table and I'll go upstairs and change. Then we can start studying. Okay?" She didn't wait for an answer as she left a somewhat confused Tsukune standing there.

He eventually went to the table and set down his book bag. He took out what he needed to study for next week and laid them all on the table.

Moka came back down a few minutes later, having changed into some black short shorts and a simple white top.

Tsukune couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked before he caught himself and shook such thoughts away. He was there to study with her, nothing more. He could not afford to get so distracted.

Once Moka had all her stuff out they looked at each other.

"Alright, Tsukune. What do you want to study first?"

"Well, if we tackle the hard stuff now we can work on the easier subjects later this weekend as we get closer to the tests. It should help keep the stress levels low," he offered.

She gave a nod. "Sounds good to me. What do you think is the hardest subject?"

"Math!" Tsukune stated matter-of-factly.

-**xxxxxx**-

After a few minutes, it was clear to Moka that Tsukune was not only not paying attention in math class but was not doing the exercises and homework that were assigned either. Instead of being mad at him though, as Tsukune had expected she would be, she was actually more than happy to help him out. They spent the next two hours working on the math material.

Slumping his head down on the table, Tsukune groaned. "My head feels like it's been electrocuted." He had to admit though that he had learned more in those two hours about math than he had half-paying attention in class, if at all. Even his notes they had found were fragmented and missing many elements, which he was embarrassed about.

"Don't you worry, Tsukune! You can use my notes from now on whenever you need them." Her hand had reached out to grab his and squeeze it reassuringly.

He smiled at her, "Thank you so much, Moka. I... I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"Probably fail your tests," she replied instantly with a giggle, still smiling.

He laughed nervously, "Yeeahh... probably."

They then both noticed that they were still holding hands and abruptly let go of one another awkwardly.

"So, uh. What's next?" asked Tsukune.

"Well, are you sure you're comfortable with the Math material now?"

Tsukune slowly shook his head, "Not entirely. But I think we can go over it again tomorrow. We should move on to another subject." He did not really want to continue studying math after having already done so for two hours.

"Well, we can start studying for Science. That's pretty tough." Moka was already reaching for her science textbook as she spoke.

They spent about an hour and a half on the material before they were interrupted by a grumbling that emanated from Tsukune's stomach. Actually, it had been grumbling for a while but Tsukune had been ignoring it until it finally got loud enough that Moka had heard. She had of course been concerned.

"You're hungry Tsukune! Why didn't you tell me?"

He grinned sheepishly at her and shrugged, "I didn't think I was _that _hungry, really."

Moka stood up and moved to the kitchen with a purpose. "Well, I'll try to cook something up real quick!"

"Can I help?" asked Tsukune as he stood and stretched, walking over to the counter that separated the dining area from the kitchen proper.

The pink-haired girl shook her head. "I want to do this myself, Tsukune. You go and rest! If you want, you can watch some TV."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm!"

He watched her for a moment as she prepared the food before turning around and walking past the dining area to the living room. A nice leather couch was placed against the wall, over which was a large painting of a sailboat out in the ocean during a sunset. Right in front of the couch was a nice wood and glass coffee table. On opposite wall was a mounted flatscreen HDTV. He noted that it was connected to a sound system and, taking a moment to look around, he found there were five speakers total placed strategically around the living area.

He moved over to the window, pulling aside the drapes to look outside. It was pretty dark out there, the last vestiges of light from the sun casting a faint glow on everything. But even that slowly was fading away, giving way to the darkness of night.

Tsukune sat down on the couch, noting how comfortable it was. He cast a glance over to the kitchen and saw Moka looking very focused on the cooking. He smiled.

Reaching for the remote, he turned the TV on. As the flatscreen came to life, the station that was currently on was one of the national news channels. Sound seemed to come from all around him as the sound system did its magic.

"_... Fairy Tale, Inc. lawyers did not comment on the current lawsuit being brought by the Internet giant. In other news..._" Tsukune changed the channel.

He surfed mindlessly for a while, feeling totally relaxed on the comfortable leather couch. His attention from the TV was broken when Moka finally said that dinner was ready. Turning the television off he went over to the dining table where the food had been set.

"Wow, Moka. This looks pretty good. You didn't have to cook so much though," he said, understanding now why it had taken her so long to cook. She had made four different dishes.

She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, fingers intertwining as she looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just that... well, I know you like steak but I didn't have any. And since I wasn't sure what other kinds of food you liked..."

"Well, there's not a lot of food that I _don't_ like, to be honest." He looked at the food she had prepared. "And these look good to me." He sat down, eyes still on the food which meant he completely missed the happy look that Moka gave him. "Shall we?" he asked as he helped himself to some fish.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune unlocked the front door of his house and stepped through. The lights on the first floor were still open, which was strange since usually by this time his parents were already upstairs. He shut the door and instantly heard the shuffling of footsteps.

"Hey little cuz! How was your study date?" a familiar voice called out to him as he was quickly enveloped in a hug.

"K-Ky-Kyoko!" He was not expecting to see her there, especially so late at night. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Suki." She sticks her tongue out at him as she steps back.

His older cousin, Kyoko, lived only two blocks away from him and they grew up together as pretty much brother and sister. Her light teal eyes looked at him with great interest.

"Wait, how did you know about me studying with my friend?"

"Isn't it obvious? I came by to pay a visit and you weren't here, so naturally I asked your mother." She grinned, "She was so surprised that you had a girlfriend. Well, _I _was surprised naturally but I'm not so sure if it's true..."

"W-w-what?! She's not my girlfriend!" He raised his hands, palms facing her as he said that.

"Mhmm.. I know you, Suki. You're not exactly one to go out and get a girlfriend while starting out in high school. Something's suspicious about this..."

"Suspicious?" asked Tsukune, confused.

"Yes," came the reply in a matter-of-fact tone. "Are you pretending to be out studying with some girl, but you're actually goofing off with your friends? Maybe even doing something illegal? Don't you lie to me Tsukune Aono!"

Tsukune gave her a look that basically said, 'are you serious?'

"Don't give me that look! I'm just saying that this is suspicious and that's one of the possible scenarios I've thought of," she said, crossing her arms.

"Look, Kyoko. No, I'm not doing anything illegal and I'm not goofing off with my buddies," he explained, "I was actually studying!"

If anything that made Kyoko even more suspicious, and she pretty much said so. "And since when have you been so focused on studying? That's not the Tsukune I know! You're hiding something," her eyes squinted at him as she raised her right hand and pointed at him, "And I intend to find out what."

With that she walked past him and left through the front door, bidding him a good night before the door closed.

For the life of him, Tsukune could not understand what had transpired. His cousin acted very strangely sometimes.

* * *

**Author's notes: **What do you guys think? Reviews are appreciated, all the more if they are constructive ones. :) Also, I know it's somewhat slow for now but things pick up soon enough.


	4. A Family Visit

**Note: **While I like the character of Sekitan Ria, which several authors have begun to use, I am here to tell you that I will not be using this character in my story. Perhaps in another that I write, but for the purposes of this current story I will be using Akua with a slightly... modified personality to make her a bit more similar to Ria, but not quite. Enjoy!

**Beneath the Surface**

A Family Visit

* * *

Moka Akashiya's eyes fluttered open. She woke up extra early today. And for her that meant she was up before the sun had even begun to poke its head above the horizon. Her eyes gazed steadily at the ceiling, as if she could will herself to look past it and up at the stars that she knew were up there watching. She did not move save for the up and down movement of her chest from her breathing.

Why had she woken up so early? It was her birthday.

Two very different emotions welled up inside her as her eyes began to notice the light in the room beginning to brighten ever so slowly. She felt both excitement and apprehension.

The first emotion was excitement. This was because it was her birthday, and how could one not be excited for one's day of birth? And of course the fact that she was spending it with Tsukune helped in that regard. Her mind pondered for a moment what they were going to do that day, but ultimately she decided that it would be best to ask Tsukune what he thought they should do.

The second emotion was apprehension. This was caused by the fact that, without fail ever since she had left, every birthday of hers elicited a visit from family. And while she did love her family, she was not overly fond of them. Particularly when there were humans around. And more specifically with Tsukune around today she was very apprehensive indeed of their impending arrival.

They never told her when or where, not giving any warning in advance. . They always seemed to find her, no matter where she happened to be. While she should be used to it by now she could not help but feel this apprehension because today was different. Today Tsukune might meet her family.

Of course, if she had anything to do with it, they would not meet.

_At least not yet_, she thought.

-**xxxxxx**-

The doorbell rang, a sing-song chime that made Moka jump in surprise. She carefully drained the remaining blood in the transfusion pack before disposing of it and, making sure her appearance was clean and bloodless, she headed for the front door. Who could be at the door? From the faint scent that she could sense coming from beyond the door, she knew it was definitely not Tsukune.

Her family had arrived. Early. Much earlier than expected.

_I hope things don't get complicated_, she thought. Her inner self said nothing, though a feeling of agreement came from that part of her that was hers and yet also separate.

She reached for the handle of the door, her fingers touching the cool metal. She let her hand linger there for a moment before she took a deep cleansing breath and opened the door. Moka expected to see her entire family there, yelling "Surprise!" as they usually did - well, at least her sisters did. Her father would merely grin ever so slightly and have an amused twinkle in his eye.

Instead of that, only a lone woman stood before her.

"Hello, little sister. Happy birthday," she greeted her with an innocent-enough smile, showing sharper than normal canines. Then she looked at her curiously with her red eyes, "You seem surprised to see me." It was meant more as a question than a statement of fact.

"Good morning, big sister. I _am _surprised to see _only_ you. Usually the others are with you. What's happened? Is something wrong?"

Akua let out a short laugh, "Oh you are precious, Moka." She flipped her black hair a bit with her left hand. "Father regrets that he cannot make it, but sends his warmest birthday wishes and a tidy sum deposited into your account so that you can go buy yourself a little something."

Moka looked even more surprised. "What's happened? Did the Council convene?" That was the only reason she could see that her father would ever miss her birthday. It had to be seriously important enough to involve the Council of Elders of the vampire realm, of which he was the current leader.

Akua grinned and gave her a pointed look, "My, my sister. Have you lost all semblance of manners being in the company of such filthy creatures as humans that you would neglect to invite me into your home? Or did you _really _want to chat about this on your doorstep where any passersby could hear us?" Her sarcasm was sharp as a knife and made Moka wince slightly as it cut her.

"S-sorry! Please come in and make yourself at home, Akua." Moka pulled the door wide open and stepped aside to allow her sister to pass.

"Much better, though I can't stay long." She strode in, looking around with a critical eye. Her facial expression changed from neutral to disgusted almost instantly. "I can smell a human's scent in here..." Her eyes widened and she turned to her sister. "Have you...?" she trailed off into a growl.

Moka's eyes widened at the implication. "NO! No! Absolutely not! Of course not! I'm only fifteen!"

"_Six_teen now," Akua reminded her. "Do shut the door, dear sister. It woudn't do to invite any unwanteds in here." She walked into the living room and spoke as she did so, "You know we aren't bound by the same rules and customs as humans. I had my first when I was fifteen you know."

Moka ignored that as she closed the door and walked over to where her sister had sat down on the leather couch, making herself comfortable. Moka stood, crossing her arms over her chest. She did not like Akua much, only as much as was necessary and expected out of a sister and nothing more. And while Akua did love her the same way, she allowed herself to forget that love at times and cause her some pain. For what reason she did this, Moka had no idea. But as the eldest of them, she was of course the strongest. Once, she had fought back and that turned out to be a big mistake as it had not ended well for her. Since then she learned to endure her sister's occasional desires to, as she once said, "make things interesting."

"So where are they? What's happened?" Moka asked again.

Akua flashed her a mischievous grin, her red eyes dancing with the knowledge of something important and it made Moka want to know even more. She was clearly enjoying this moment and Moka hated her for it.

"Oh, it's nothing you should concern yourself with, Moka. After all," she paused to look around and wave a hand at her surroundings, "You've decided to forsake your race and live amongst these lesser creatures."

Moka ignored her jab, though her body tightened slightly at that. "It is my birthday, big sister. All I want to know is why you are the only one here." Her tone was even as she held back her growing irritation.

"Dear sister, forgive me." Her tone was anything but remorseful as she glanced out through the window. "There has indeed been an emergency meeting of the Council. For what, I am not sure, but I have been ordered to report back after seeing to greeting you in person on behalf of the family."

Moka could tell she was not telling her everything. Yet it would be unwise to try and push for answers she knew would not come from her.

Akua's gaze settled once again on Moka. "Tell me, sister. Who is this human that you have brought to your home? I at first thought that it was perhaps the lingering smell of several of your prey... but now I know for certain there is only _one _specific human scent in the air. Is he to be your little juice box of blood? Perhaps even a lover?" She kept going. "Who is this boy? And when can _I _have a taste?"

Moka was torn between feeling embarrassed and angry. Embarrassed that her sister had thought that she and Tsukune might be lovers of some sort and angry with everything else she had said. She clenched her teeth, her fists balling up tightly and her back stiffening.

_"Be calm. We do not want to make a scene, especially in this home. And especially with her. You know what happened last time_," said her other self sternly.

"He... he's just a friend." That was all she managed to say, and the way Akua reacted to it made her regret even responding.

Akua lifted an eyebrow and smiled, flashing her teeth. "Friends?" She seemed genuinely surprised at that. "That's... interesting." She fell silent as she seemed to be thinking of something with great intent.

Moka did not like it one bit. "Akua. Big sister, please do not do anything to harm him."

Her eldest sister gave her a rather convincing but fake look of shock. "Why Moka, would you ever think I would be thinking of doing anything to your _friend_?"

"I know that look, Akua. Please just don't. Don't hurt him." Her hands came up to her chest and intertwined.

Akua didn't acknowledge her plea. "Does this particular human happen to be the one that you've been writing father so much about?"

For her part, Moka did not outwardly react to the revelation that she knew about Tsukune and that she had indeed been writing about him in her letters to her father. She had not really considered the fact that he might actually share some of that information with the family. With the clarity that comes with hindsight, she wished that she could go back and hide the fact that she had met Tsukune from her family. It was a mistake to let them know about him.

"How did you know about that?" asked Moka.

"Did you think that father dear would keep such important information from us, let alone me? Besides, it was easy enough to read the letters on my own if I wanted to. He keeps them in a pile on his desk after all," came the reply, the last bit of it said with a hint of bitterness.

"How does... father feel. About him?"

"Oh, he wonders what exactly your intentions are with the boy, but as usual he lets you do what you want." Again there was the bitterness in her voice. "Speaking of which, it would be a great honor to meet this wonderful young human my little sister Moka seems so very fond of."

Moka's eyes widened ever so slightly. This was going from bad to worse. It was bad enough that Akua knew about Tsukune, but now she wanted to meet with him. And she didn't want the two of them to meet. She didn't want the two of them within ten miles of each other if she could help it.

"I'd rather not introduce him to the family," Moka finally said. Hoping and praying for the impossible: that her sister would not be interested in meddling with her and Tsukune.

Akua gave her a pained look, "But dearest sister, I want to meet him. I promise I won't hurt him." She didn't say the last word she had meant to say, which was "much."

The pink-haired girl hesitated. She knew deep down that her sister was lying, that she was merely saying whatever she needed to in order for her to concede. But even if she still refused, she knew that her sister would involve herself anyway. At least this way Moka would know when they would meet and would be there when they interacted, in case anything untoward occurred.

"Fine." It was said with resignation "But not today. I'll let you know when..." Her voice was steady as she spoke.

Akua shook her head. "Since it's your birthday, I will agree not to meet him today. But I will return sometime this week, and ready or not I _will _meet this boy."

"But why?" asked Moka. She really was curious to know why her sister would take the time to meet a human, even after saying that she would not harm him which was usually a good enough reason for her to do anything.

The reply was swift. "And why not? Even father is curious about this human. Your letters went from boring and somewhat depressing to sudden glowing and happiness seemingly overnight after meeting this boy. Why wouldn't I be interested in meeting someone who has so clearly caught my dear little sister's attention?"

Her words made Moka regret ever writing home about Tsukune. She had clearly not thought of the implications of doing so. Well, she had thought a little about it before but decided that her father would not bring up such matters with her sisters and would not keep the letters out in the open like that. It was in hindsight merely wishful thinking.

Of course her father would talk about it with Akua. Of course he would be concerned since he isn't exactly the biggest fan of humanity. Of course her family would take an interest in Tsukune, given how much interest she herself had with him. Her first letter after meeting Tsukune was practically gushing about how nice and kind he was and how he was to be her first friend in the human world.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked Akua, another mischievous grin on display.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Moka hoped to change the subject. "The Council meeting explains father's absence... but where are Kokoa and Kahlua?"

"Kahlua was sent out on a very important mission for the family business last night. As for Kokoa, she is at home." Akua replied straightforwardly, "You know that father does not allow her to go anywhere without his presence because she is still far too young. Not even for the birthday of his beloved daughter will he make an exception."

"Oh. Right. I remember."

"You can always visit the castle, you know. It would make Kokoa happy." There it was. The confusing thing with her sister.

Moka never quite understood her eldest sister's rapid changes in demeanor. One moment she could be uncaring and devious, the next she could be caring and kind. It was enough to make her wonder if Akua was insane or not.

Akua's voice broke the silence that had settled between them. "Well, would you look at the time! I need to get going, little sister." She stood up and walked over to Moka, wrapping her in a hug, which was returned rather stiffly though Akua did not comment on it.

They walked to the door and Moka opened it for her older sister. Akua took one step out the door before she stopped and whirled around.

"Oh my, I almost forgot to give you my present." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a bottle of what looked to be wine. Moka knew, however, that it was not what it seemed and Akua confirmed it by saying, "This was freshly harvested today." The bottle was handed over to her and Moka held it gently, as if it would break. Even though she had already fed, the fact that this was fresh made her salivate.

"Enjoy," said Akua with a smile. She walked out the front gate and up to the black limousine that waited for her. A few moments later and she was gone.

Moka was still standing in the doorway, the bottle held firmly in her hands.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune hopped lightly down the stairs and bounced into the living room, a smile plastered onto his face. The steadily brightening light from outside shining through the windows. He was dressed in a nice pair of fitted jeans, a white shirt over which he wore a dark blue polo that was buttoned up to the second highest one, leaving the collar a little looser and showing the white shirt underneath.

"Good morning, mom!"

For her part, Kasumi Aono did not ask him why he was in such high spirits. She already knew the answer, even though Tsukune would not admit his feelings she knew that they were real. Still, she could not help but feel worried about her only son being romantically involved with another girl. This was mostly because of the fact that she had yet to meet her and no matter how many times she asked or reminded Tsukune about this he would quickly change the subject.

It was as if he did not want her to meet this girl. As Kyoko would say, this was highly suspicious. But she kept quiet on the matter. She would wait for now, trusting in her son that he would do the right things and make them proud of the way that she and her husband had raised him. Also partly because she knew that he was quite clueless when it comes to the fairer sex.

"Good morning, Tsukune. What are you doing today?"

Tsukune's smile widened even more than she thought possible at the question. "Today is Moka's birthday!"

"Oh? Well that's wonderful, dear. What are you doing to celebrate?" Matriarch Aono was definitely interested to know.

The brilliant smile faltered a little and there was a nervous laugh as the young boy reached a hand back and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahh... uhh.. well, I'm actually not sure. But we're hanging out!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have a plan to celebrate! Isn't this girl special to you?" Kasumi Aono said in disappointment at her son, causing him to look down.

He was still rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, if you put it that way... yeah, she's pretty special to me. But it's not like she's my girlfriend or anything!"

_Oh Tsukune my boy, you are so clueless sometimes..._ she thought as she continued to cook breakfast. _If only his father, Koji, were more present in his life_, she thought. Even though it would have been perfect for both her and her husband to be there for their son and raise him together properly, it was not meant to be that way. Similar to most Japanese families, the father was the main breadwinner of the family and thus spent the majority of his time at work. It was the mother's duty to care for household and even more importantly the children.

"Well, do you want my advice?" She paused to look at him and their gazes met. He gave her a meek nod.

"Girlfriend or not, she is special to you and you two have planned to spend at least some part of today together. I am sure she is expecting you to come up with activities to do to entertain her."

Tsukune nodded, a look of realization and determination coming to his face. "Right!" His fist came up to his face, as if in triumph. An instant later he was scratching his head, looking lost. "But... but what should we do?"

Sighing, Kasumi continued with her cooking. Her son _really_needed help with the ladies. "Do something that you think she'd like. You should know her well enough by now," and they really should since they seemed to have spent much of the last two months in each other's company. "And for the record, you are not leaving this house until you decide on things to do and run it by me for approval."

Tsukune's protests were ignored.

* * *

**Author's notes: **The next chapter will cover the birthday, a nice long chapter... but beware the calm before the storm.

On another note, I will be increasingly busier as time goes on. I will try to write as much as I can whenever I find the time. I appreciate your patience and I hope you will continue to follow and read this story as we move forward.


	5. A Beautiful Day

**A Beautiful Day**

* * *

Tsukune contemplated throughout breakfast about what he was going to do today for Moka's birthday. He wished he had more time to think and plan, but he only found out that it was Moka's birthday today because she had told him earlier that week. Besides, he was pretty terrible at planning. He remembered her acting a little weird at the time, staying overly quiet as if something was on her mind. Then she had asked very meekly if he would be free to celebrate her birthday with her.

He of course said yes, surprised that her birthday was coming up so soon. _And less than two weeks before my own birthday too! _he thought. He would ask her by the end of the day if she, in turn, would spend his birthday with him.

"So dear? Did you decide on what you'll be doing today?" asked his mother with keen interest.

He did not respond right away, still thinking on that matter. The problem was of course that while he liked to think that he and Moka were close, and he believed they were, he hardly knew anything about her. He did not want to admit this out loud, to his mother no less, so he did not mention it. Eventually, he decided on some activities that he thought would be safe in terms of them being entertaining.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we can go to the arcade and play some games there. Maybe I can even win her something," he said, looking thoughtful as the idea came to mind. "Then we could go have some lunch and then maybe watch a movie... or we could also go to the park, get some ice cream, and walk around. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day."

He looked outside. Clear blue skies could be seen through the windows. "Then we could finish with dinner somewhere. Haven't decided that part yet."

Kasumi Aono looked at her only son with interest. She could tell that he was not entirely sure of his plan, but at least he had some form of one. Having never met this girl before, Kasumi could not judge how well the events would turn out. She only hoped that this would be a good day for him. Her boy definitely had feelings for this girl, even though he did not know it yet. _He'll figure it out in time... I hope, _she added the last thought after a few seconds.

"Well, I hope that you two have fun then. Even though I would prefer it if you had absolutely concrete plans, time is a wasting! You should meet up with her already." She looked at the clock, noticing that it was getting closer to ten in the morning. "Let me know if you need anything and if you run into any trouble don't hesitate to call me, okay hun?" she told him with a smile.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka was trying hard not to panic. Everything was going to be okay. She was worried about what was happening with the Elders, and particularly her father. It really had to be a serious matter if he was to miss greeting her in person on her birthday. Add to that the fact that her sister now seemed to have a particular interest in Tsukune and her birthday was not starting out as well as she liked.

_"Try not to worry too much about_ _that,"_ her other self reassured her, _"T__his is our special day after all. We can worry about that later."_

Tsukune was supposed to come over after breakfast. Moka looked over at the clock and saw that it was nearing ten in the morning. She wondered when exactly Tsukune had breakfast as she realized she did not really know. Did he eat early or late? Was ten in the morning considered early or late for him? Particularly on a Saturday like today, she actually didn't really know how his mornings went. Maybe he slept in. It was a possibility since she most often saw him in the afternoons of the weekend, when they would hang out.

_Ding-dong_.

Moka glanced towards the front door and a smile grew on her face. Even from here she could smell his scent. Her steps were light as she went to the door, opening it to reveal the boy in question standing outside.

"Hi Moka. Happy birthday!" He exclaimed with a toothy grin.

Moka hugged him tightly, much to the boy's surprise. She tried very hard to resist the temptation to suck on his blood, her willpower strained as she broke the hug and took a few steps back. Her green eyes met with his brown ones.

"You ate already, right?" She asked him, worried that maybe he did not eat since she had not cooked anything.

He nodded. "Yeah, my mom cooked up some breakfast." He waved towards the street. "Should we go?"

Moka gave him a questioning look, wondering what he had planned. "Go where? I thought we'd just hang out here and go to the park later, maybe."

"But that's what we usually do when we hang out. Today is your birthday, Moka. We should do something different!"

She could not help but smile. "You're right. Okay then! Give me a few minutes, I need to change." She turned and ran up the stairs to her room, leaving Tsukune by the open front door.

Five minutes later and she was back outside, locking the door and pocketing the key. She tilted her head a little to the side, her pink hair shifting. "Shall we?"

Tsukune walked towards the gate and opened it, waving for her to go through. "Ladies first."

She giggled a little as she walked ahead. He was acting a little differently today, but she liked it. "So where are we going?"

"Oh, you'll see," he replied cryptically. "I've got a few activities planned for us today. My hope is that you'll have a great time."

She glanced at him, feeling a little heat on her cheeks and then she looked forward again.

They walked for a while, chatting about school and some trivial things like the weather. Eventually, they reached the downtown area of the city, and stopped right in front of a big arcade. In large block letters above the entrance was the name of the arcade, "Arcade Arena." Large glass windows allowed people walking down the sidewalk to look in, and both Tsukune and Moka saw that there were kids of varying ages inside. There were even a handful of adults who were playing some games too.

Moka's eyes lit up. "I haven't played in an arcade in a long time!" It was true. The last time she had played in an arcade was several years ago, when she was maybe eight or nine years old. Her father had deemed it unacceptable for a vampire to play such silly games, but he had softened a considerable deal since then. At least to her.

Tsukune grinned triumphantly and opened the door. "Well, the games won't play themselves. Come on!"

For the next two hours, both she and Tsukune played a variety of different games. From shooter games, where they shot at either terrorists or zombies, to fighting games like Street Fighter. They raced each other on a motorbike game as well as a race car game too. They then played some air hockey and shot some hoops, both of which Moka beat Tsukune at soundly much to his surprise.

Moka was thoroughly enjoying herself, and even Inner Moka seemed to feel rather pleased. While she usually enjoyed Tsukune's company, this was different. It had been a long time since she had this much fun. And with a human no less! Almost all humans she interacted with seemed to shun her and ridicule her for being different. She sometimes wondered what the point of hiding her true nature was, but having met Tsukune she could care less about other people.

She had found someone who liked her because she was her. Someone who appreciated her and who did not judge her by how she looked. Tsukune gave her hope as well as strength, and she was happy that she had met him.

As they were leaving the arcade, Tsukune spotted one of those claw games where a person could control a metal claw that dove into a pile of toys in the hopes of snagging one. He grinned and approached it, Moka following him with a curious expression. She realized what he was doing and could't help but blush. He was trying to get her something!

Moka watched him closely as his face tensed in concentration, the muscles around his eyes tightening. His tongue poked out to the side a little as he maneuvered the claw around. After a few seconds, he pressed the button that activated the claw and it plunged into the pile of stuffed animals. There was one stuffed cat doll barely in its grasp as the claw retracted up.

Tsukune grinned and was about to celebrate when on the way to the drop-off area the toy fell down. He instantly frowned, upset, and Moka wanted to say something but then he inserted another coin in an effort to try again. Again, he focused as he maneuvered the claw around with a surprisingly deft touch. Again, he pressed the button and the metal claw dropped down and clamped onto another doll. This one was a light brown bear with a green bow tie on it.

When the claw retracted, he felt nervous as it moved towards the drop area but then let out a huge sigh of relief as the bear made it. He grabbed it as it slid out and with a big smile of triumph on his face he turned and offered it to Moka, who was still blushing and a little flustered. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way, but she accepted the bear right away.

"Th-thanks Tsukune!" She managed to say as she clutched the bear close to her. It was so soft and squishy, she wanted to hug it to death.

Still smiling, Tsukune asked, "So what are you going to name that bear?"

"Umm.." She took some time to think about that. "How about Kune?" She asked, taking after his name though without the "Tsss" sounding part of it.

"That's a great name! Not that I'm biased or anything."

She giggled, hugging the bear.

"Wanna grab some ice cream and go to the park?"

Ice cream sounded like a good idea to her. "I'd like that."

They headed for the nearest ice cream shop that was also on the way to the closest park. Ten minutes later and they were both eating ice cream and walking towards the park, the sun shining brightly overhead. It was quite warm out and their ice cream was beginning to melt at a rapid pace so they found themselves eating more and talking less. Still, it was enjoyable simply to be in each other's company at that point, and they were both amused at the state of each other's ice cream.

The two had to wipe their mouths and chin as well as their fingers thoroughly with the napkins they brought with them from the ice cream shop as the melted ice cream had dripped all over. Thankfully their clothes were untouched by the dessert.

Once they were at the park, both Moka and Tsukune strolled around the lake that was in the middle. In truth, it was more of a pond than a lake, but the locals liked to call it a lake because it made it seem a lot nicer. Not that it wasn't nice, but calling it a lake was a bit deceiving.

"Hey Moka?" Tsukune looked at her as they walked a lap around the lake.

"Yes, Tsukune?"

"I was wondering... how old exactly are you anyway?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that? Sorry!" She looked sheepish as she apologized.

"No, it's okay! I didn't know and I should've asked in the first place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing nervously.

"Well I'm now 16!"

Tsukune stopped abruptly in his tracks, causing Moka to stop and look back at him with a questioning glance. He looked shocked.

"Hold on. This is... This is your _sixteenth_ birthday? As in, your sweet sixteen?" He seemed to be having trouble comprehending something about that.

She nodded slowly, her questioning glance turning into a worried one. "Yeaaah... Is there... Is there something wrong?" She began to wonder if she had made a social mistake of some kind.

Tsukune shook his head. "No, it's just... well, a sweet sixteen is supposed to be _really _special. You know? I mean, that's what they say anyway. Especially for girls! Although I guess that's more Western thinking than Japanese..." He trailed off, a look of disbelief still on his face.

Moka shrugged, not knowing and really not caring all that much about that. She was spending her birthday with her close friend, her _only _friend here, and that's what mattered to her.

"But today _is _special, and it has been special so far. I'm having a great time!" She told him honestly. She looked away from him, brushing aside some of her long pink hair and tucking it behind her right ear. A gentle breeze blew, her hair moving slightly in the direction of the breeze.

"In truth, this is the first birthday I've spent away from home. Away from my family." She paused as she thought about them. Her father. Her three sisters. This was her first year away and for a while she regretted her decision to leave and live among the humans. Her mother had lived among them before, and unlike the majority of the vampire race she found them to be more than simply food and slaves. Moka had wanted to see what she meant, to learn for herself what the humans and their world were like other than what she had learned from books.

What she found at first was a lot of conflict, pain, and aggression. She felt like an outcast, made worse by the fact that she _really _did not belong because she was truly different from the humans. The school that she now attended with Tsukune had been her third in the last year. She had transferred within the first few days at both of the schools before this one.

This was to be her last attempt before returning, defeated and likely in tears, to her father and her family. To where _they _said she belonged. When she found the same treatment here, she was sad and disappointed. She had never felt so alone and so self-conscious of her differences from those around her. She thought she would never understand what her mother had said. And then a young boy named Tsukune Aono finally showed her what her mother had been talking about.

There were humans out there who were not prejudiced and who did not attack and shun someone because they were different. He showed her that humans could be kind and gentle. They could be friendly and a whole lot of fun. Of course, all this was done under the illusion that Moka was simply human, even though she was not. In the back of her mind, when she had first started to befriend Tsukune, she had already begun to worry about the time when he found out her true nature...

"Moka? Moka? Earth to Moka!" Tsukune said, his hand waving in front of her eyes.

Moka blinked rapidly, shaking her head. She jumped a bit backwards, letting out an "eep!" as she realized Tsukune was right next to her.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "But you kinda spaced out there. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She told him firmly, giving him a small smile.

"Good. I was a little worried there..." He scratched his head, "So... Moka. You said that this is the first time you've spent away from your home and your family?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, if you don't mind me asking... why are you living away from them? And how in the world did your parents allow you to go out on your own when you weren't even sixteen yet until today? And you've never mentioned you're family before. In fact, I've never even seen your family." He realized that he had blurted that all out and covered his mouth with his left hand. His right arm raised up, palm facing Moka as he waved it in apology. "Sorry! I didn't..."

"It's okay, Tsukune. I guess I haven't really been very open about all this." She understood how he must be feeling. He knew so little about her and yet was supposedly her one true friend.

Moka bit her lip. "Well..." She tried to think of how best to explain it without revealing too much about her family. "My mother kinda gave me the idea... and, well my parents are very open and have a somewhat relaxed attitude towards parenting... plus I figured that the best way to truly learn about what life was like and what it was about was to actually go out there and experience life for myself, on my own." That was a half-truth. She did feel that way, but that was not the original reason why she had left.

"Oh, I think I understand..." Tsukune said, looking thoughtful as he processed this revelation of information from the pink-haired sixteen year old.

"My family is rather well off so it was also not too big of a deal financially. Since I'm a student, they pay for everything I need which is really great because I'm free to experience the world without worrying about money."

"Wow. Your family must be really rich," remarked Tsukune as he looked at her with raised eyebrows.

He had no idea how truly rich her family was. Moka figured her father could probably buy every property in Japan and it would barely make a dent in the family's fortune. After all, her father was over a thousand years old and thus the accumulation of wealth over that period was mind mindbogglingly astronomical.

"Well since you're telling me a little about your family, I do want to ask... Do you have siblings?" asked Tsukune.

"Yep! Three of them. I have two older sisters and a younger sister."

"Wow. Five women in one house? I'm sure your father has his hands full."

She laughed at that. "Not exactly. My father actually has a pretty good handle of things." Her father had well more than a good handle. He had complete control, though he didn't necessarily exercise it.

Tsukune's expression changed to one of being impressed. "Wow. I know my dad would probably go crazy in a house with five girls, unless the house was big enough of course." He added the last bit with a laugh.

She didn't bother to mention that she lived in a very ancient palatial mansion. "How about you, Tsukune? You've never mentioned any siblings either."

"That's because I don't have any."

"Oh." She said it like she was sorry for him.

He laughed lightly. "It's fine, really. I sometimes wish I did have a brother or sister, you know, to keep me company when I'm not with my friends or my parents. Although I do have a cousin who lives close by and who has acted pretty much like my big sister."

"Really?" Moka was suddenly interested to know who this person was. Hopefully she would be similar to Tsukune. Maybe she could gain another friend!

"Yeah. We grew up together, for the most part." He sighed. "She's kind of annoying though, and definitely a little too suspicious of everything. She thinks there's a conspiracy behind every action or a lie behind every word!"

Moka was amused by that. "She sounds like a lot of fun."

Tsukune shook his head. "Most of the time, at least for me, she isn't anything more than a bother. But she _does _have her moments." He seemed to think of one as he laughed quietly to himself after saying that.

"She definitely seems like a big sister to you then. My siblings are sometimes a pain to deal with too..." she trailed off, not wanting to say more.

Thankfully, Tsukune actually got the hint and didn't pursue that line of conversation.

Moka stopped by an empty wooden bench facing the lake and sat down, Tsukune took a seat next to her.

"So what's her name anyway?"

"Kyoko Aono. She's one year older than me."

"Kyoko..." Moka said the name, "I'd like to meet her."

Tsukune hesitated for a second. "Uh... sure. Okay."

Moka smiled. Hopefully she would be able to have her first human female friend. They sat there in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts. She closed her eyes, letting the breeze tickle her skin. The sun warmed her body nicely. All around her she could hear the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. It was such a beautiful day out.

-**xxxxxx**-

**Elsewhere**...**  
**

Issa Shuzen, current leader of the vampire race and nearing one thousand years old, was furious. He was furious because the other vampire Elders were forcing him to do something that he did not want to do. He could refuse, of course, but because of the number of Elders against him on this matter he would lose a lot of respect and influence. Even as the supreme leader of the vampires, he still answered to the other Elders.

They were from all over the world, the Elders. There were twelve of them, including Issa. All of them were younger than him, though one was relatively close in that he was only roughly a century younger. That Elder's name was Zatula, and he was the leader of the northern European vampire clans. He was also the instigator behind this plan to return his daughter to her rightful place: with her family in the vampire realm.

Zatula, ever since he and Issa had met, were always trying to one up each other and outmaneuver each other politically. When Issa married Akasha, however, Issa ultimately won the grand prize on that account. He gained some Shinso blood upon mating with Akasha once, already adding to his formidable power. He was not able to gain much blood, however, but it was enough to put him above all but other Shinso vampires, of which there were only two in the world until only recently.

Now there were three. His daughter, the child born from the one night of passion with his mate before she fought with Alucard and sealed herself within him to contain his essence. Moka Akashiya.

And now the Council of Elders was voting to demand her return to the vampire realm. Since Akasha was, in actuality, the true leader of the vampires that made Moka her heir. Moka was destined to become as powerful as her mother, who was extremely powerful and nearly on par with the original vampire and the most powerful of them all, Alucard. That destiny, according to the Elders, not to mention her position as a Princess and the next Vampire Queen, meant that she had to be in the vampire realm being brought up in a vampire environment with her vampire family.

Having her out in the human realm was too risky, as other creatures might seize this opportunity to strike at the vampire leadership. Others claimed that she was tainting herself by being with the human "filth" as he called them. Both views were, in Issa's mind, brought about by one man. The man sitting on the far side of the long table where the Council convened.

He had a shadow of a smile on his face, but for the most part remained fairly neutral with his expression. He was silent, however, whereas his colleagues were arguing among themselves. That alone was a dead giveaway that he was behind the strife in the Council. Issa of course could do nothing, at least directly, in response to that. He needed to address the concern of the Council while also planning on how best to counter this latest political move by his rival.

Issa didn't bother hiding the glare that he was giving Zatula. He eventually had enough of the noise and silenced the Elders with a powerful clap that created a sonic boom, causing the Elders to be taken aback a little as they looked to their leader. Even Zatula was surprised at the move.

In hindsight, Issa shouldn't have gotten their attention that way. He had let his irritation get the best of him, but he did not skip a beat and did not show any outward signs of regret at that action.

"Enough. I grow weary of this chatter. I have heard the Council's concerns and while my assurances that she will be fine have apparently fallen on deaf ears," he gazed around the room, stopping to look critically at Zatula who was looking away, "I will have her enroll at Yokai Academy soon." His voice was low and strong. The voice of a leader and of one who had seen it all.

He had to concede. He knew his daughter would not like it, but he had no choice. The majority of the Elders, for one reason or another, wanted Moka to be back within their watch and within the vampire realm. She would hopefully understand why he had to do this.

He noticed the grin that Zatula had, and it took every ounce of his control not to challenge the Elder to a duel right then and there. While Issa had no doubts he would emerge victorious, it would still be a tough fight and would probably destroy much of the surrounding area at the least. No, that would not be wise to do. Especially in front of the Council. There were other ways to get vengeance on him for this little stunt. Issa was very good at finding those ways.

-**xxxxxx**-

The sun was beginning to set by the time they headed for home. Tsukune and Moka had stayed at the park for a while, enjoying each other's company and the beautiful day. They went to a burger joint for lunch that Tsukune had said was very good, and Moka agreed with that description as she devoured her hamburger - though they did have to buy some tomato juice for her at a grocery store that was on the way.

Following lunch, they decided to watch a movie and for a while the two debated what movie they would watch. They settled for a comedy that looked okay and turned out to be hilarious as it had them both laughing hard. Next, Moka wanted to go shop for a little bit since she said her father gave her some extra funds as a present to buy herself something. That was the least enjoyable part of the day so far for Tsukune, who like most guys did not like shopping. Especially shopping with girls.

Tsukune noted that the entire time since the arcade, Moka held the bear he had won for her with a tight grip as if she were afraid she might lose it. He felt oddly happy about that. In fact, the whole time he had spent with Moka that day felt different than before. Perhaps it was because it was her birthday, but whatever the case he was enjoying himself more than usual in Moka's company that day, and even more so knowing that Moka was also having a great time.

They reached Moka's house, with Moka unlocking the gate and both she and Tsukune stopping at the front door.

Tsukune was expecting to have dinner with her to cap off her birthday and their day together, but as they walked through the gate and up to the front door he noticed a change in Moka's demeanor. Her smile had vanished and she seemed tense, maybe even a little worried. He was about to ask her what was the matter when she spoke first.

"Tsukune," she said sincerely as she turned to him with her bright green eyes. "Thank you so much for today and for making... as you mentioned earlier... my sweet sixteen special. I had so much fun."

He wasn't sure how to react. "Uh... yeah, no problem Moka! It was my pleasure. What are friends for, right?"

"What are friends for..." she echoed back in a whisper. She glanced at the door and then back at Tsukune. "Anyway, I'm really tired from today and I'd like it if I could go to bed early tonight. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Tsukune replied immediately, though he felt a little sad that he would not be able to have dinner with her. "I understand completely. I'm feeling pretty tired myself." He smiled reassuringly at her to convince her that he was indeed okay with it.

"Thank you again, Tsukune. Today was wonderful... I'm so glad I met you and I'm happy that we're close friends. You have no idea how much this... how much this day has meant to me." She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before doing something that caught Tsukune completely off-guard.

Moka leaned in and quickly closed the gap between them, placing a chaste kiss on his lips for a second before pulling back. Her cheeks were bright red and she was looking away, surprised by her own actions.

"Goodnight, Tsukune!" She said quickly before unlocking the door and going inside. She shut the door, the audible clicks of the locks engaging barely registering in the young boy's brain.

For his part, Tsukune was stunned to silence. He could not believe it. Did she really just kiss him? He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that, but he knew that his stomach felt like it was doing the flips and his heart rate was elevated. He stood rooted to the spot in front of the door, still processing what had occurred. He slowly touched a hand up to his lips, where he still felt the lingering feeling of her own lips that moments ago pressed against his.

A full minute later, he was skipping out onto the street and headed for his own home. His steps were light and his mind was on cloud nine, all sad and disappointed thoughts of not eating dinner with Moka forgotten and discarded. He wasn't entirely sure what the kiss truly meant or why she suddenly seemed to be put off by something as they got back to her home. But those thoughts were cast aside for the time being as he relived in his mind that short moment between him and Moka. As he walked home, he slowly came to the realization that he wouldn't mind if that happened again.

Today had been a very beautiful day indeed.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka leaned her back against the front door, her cheeks still flushed and her heart beating a little faster. Her lips still tingled from the contact. She could not believe she had done that, especially with _him _being so close. She knew that if he had seen that he would have killed Tsukune on the spot, but it had felt natural to her. Her body and her subconscious had wanted her to do it.

_"Control yourself. He's waiting for us."_ The Inner Moka said sternly and with a hint of alarm in her voice.

_"What is he even doing here?" _Outer Moka thought back.

_"Perhaps we should find out by asking him ourselves," _came the quick reply.

Moka took a few breaths to calm herself and her emotions before walking out of the entryway down the small corridor and into the living area. There she found someone sitting on the couch dressed in the finest robes of nobility and class. It was none other than her father, Issa Shuzen.

He gave her an appraising look, his hands together with fingers steepled as he leaned back in the couch, relaxed and confident as he always was.

"Moka, my dear. We need to talk."

* * *

**Author's notes: **A storm is coming. You have been warned! Also, decided to remove the story title from succeeding chapters, bolding the chapter title in its place. I'm used to having the title with every chapter, but I think I'll change it up this time around and see how it looks.


	6. Welcome Home

**Welcome Home**

* * *

Moka put on her best neutral expression as she tried to hide the nervousness and dread that she felt thanks to the presence of her imposing father. She walked over to a chair that was situated perpendicular to the couch in the living room and sat down, more towards the edge of the seat than to the backrest, indicating her anxiety. Sitting with her hands clasped together and resting on her lap, her posture was rigid and tense, mirroring how she was feeling inside.

The leader of the vampires sat back comfortably on the couch with his left arm draped over the top of the backrest and the other resting on his right thigh as he studied his pink-haired daughter, or at least her fake outer form. This outer form of her's resembled her mother so much, he could almost imagine that it was truly her sitting there before him instead of his young daughter. He eyed the silver Rosario that hung from a chain around her neck and wished that she did not have to conceal who she truly was: a powerful vampire. His true daughter had eyes as red as his and the same silvery hair, with a temperament similar to his.

There was an aroma about her, a similar one that he had initially smelled upon arriving at his daughter's home. It was distinctly human, and yet different somehow. It was a smell that vaguely prodded at his memory, a far-away memory that was so in the past that it was all but fogged up and he was unable to truly remember it. Yet he knew it was familiar to him somehow. He wondered if this was the same human that her daughter seemed to be quite fond of in her letters to him.

Though he despised humans, he had allowed his daughter free reign to go where she wished. That was what her mother had promised her after all, and with all that her mother had done for the vampire race, not to mention the fact that he loved both his former wife and his daughter, he could not deny her this wish to go out into the human world. Still, that did not mean he liked the idea of her spending time with these lowly beings.

He decided not to ask any questions since this whole "living in the human world" thing was coming to a close anyway. She was never going to live amongst these humans again, and though it pained him somewhat, he was actually glad he had a legitimate excuse to bring her back into the fold.

His blood red eyes met her emerald green ones and for the second time in only a matter of seconds he felt the slightest of pangs in his heart. How that woman had managed to truly get to his heart, he was not sure he would ever find out, but if any woman was to get his attention and affections, it would be Moka's mother, Akasha. He always tried to be fair to his children, to treat and love them all equally, but that simply did not work for Moka. Whenever he saw her, he was reminded of Akasha, and how special Moka truly was not only to him but to her, and even though he would not admit it outright, of all his children it was Moka who was his favorite.

Noticing that the teenage girl was fidgeting from the silence, Issa decided to finally get to the matter at hand and dismissed his straying thoughts.

"Now listen well, Moka. You have enjoyed some time now in the human world, and I have allowed you to follow your own path for as long as I could. However, my hands are now tied on this matter... I am truly sorry, my dear, but you need to come home," he stated simply, his voice hard and unbending.

Moka's eyes widened in disbelief, her hands tightening over themselves. This was completely unexpected news. She thought that her father had simply come by to visit her for her birthday once he was done with the meeting of elders. Now she knew the reason behind the Council of Elders convening: it was to force her father to bring her back to their world, or at least that's what she surmised. Her father would not force her to come back on his own volition, or at least she thought that, which meant that apparently the elders want her to return to the vampire world; where she could be watched and undoubtedly influenced as well.

_"They can try...__"_ Inner Moka growled in defiance at the thought of being influenced by the elder vampires.

_"I can't... I can't go... this... this is... this can't be... What do we do?"_ she asked her inner self, pleading for a way out that maybe her inner self could find.

Unfortunately, there was no way around this problem, and both of them knew it. Inner Moka responded with distaste for not having any other options, "There's_ only one thing we CAN do at this time, and that is to obey."_

_"But I don't want to go back there... and... and Tsukune..." _Outer Moka fought back tears.

There was a slight feeling of disdain from her inner self upon mentioning her only human friend. _"He is a human. We have no need for him__! We have no need for any humans other than to prey on them. We're vampires!" _the Inner Moka said, although it was not with as much anger as she had hoped to convey her message with as even she admitted that he was unlike the other humans she had seen through Outer Moka's eyes and memories over the past few years.

Moka tried to reason with her inner self, _"But he's my friend! I can't just leave like this... not after..."_

_"I honestly don't care if we stayed or if we left, but Father has spoken. The elders have spoken. We cannot go against their will," _Inner Moka replied. Incurring the wrath of not only her father but the rest of the elders would be the last thing they would want to do.

Issa Shuzen spoke again when he realized that his daughter was not going to say anything anytime soon, breaking Moka from her inner dialogue. "You will return with me at once, Moka, and I will enroll you as soon as possible at Yokai Academy. So go pack your things." He had expected her to argue and fight, perhaps even physically, against this unexpected turn of events, so he was definitely surprised that she was not as combative as he figured she might be.

That statement made her nearly fall forward out of her seat. "N-Now? We're leaving _now_?" she asked in bewilderment. She had been hoping that she would at least have time to say goodbye to the one human who finally liked her. "But papa..."

"But? It seems you think that there is room for discussion. Well, let me tell you now that there will be no discussion here," Issa said matter-of-factly, not budging an inch. For him it was better to get this over with quickly. "Now go and get your things. Do not make me repeat myself again, Moka."

His pink-haired daughter stood immediately at that threat, her chair sliding backwards about an inch or two. She openly glared at him through teary green eyes before storming up to her room, her footsteps heavy with anger and frustration.

Issa sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples with his gloved hands. That had gone better than expected and he was grateful for it; eventually, she will get over it and move on from this. Now all he had to do was enroll her in Yokai and then he could finally start focusing his efforts on getting back at Zatula for forcing him to do this to his beloved daughter. Actually, the mere fact that he dared to challenge his authority and power by enacting a plan to force him to do something he did not want to do was more than enough of a reason to retaliate against the elder vampire. But he needed to be quiet about it so as to not attract the attention of the other elders and ignite a civil war.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe that this was real. She was stuffing all her belongings into her bags, everything fuzzy because of the tears that welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Even the light in her room seemed darker than she remembered it to be. Sniffling, she could not help but hate her father at that moment. And the elders too. Just when it finally seemed like she might be able to live happily and normally out in this world, they drag her back to the world she left behind.

It was her birthday too! And her father had not even greeted her. How could he be so cold? She thought that he truly loved her, but going through with this on her birthday made her doubt that. What had she done to deserve this? Why couldn't things simply go the way she wanted?

_"Pull yourself together, Moka!" _growled her inner self with mild annoyance.

She did not respond to the inner voice as she continued to pack, her room becoming barer by the minute as her bags filled.

_"You know how father feels about us and our wishes, so you know that he must truly be forced to do this," _the inner voice continued, _"Knowing him, he's probably hatching a plan to set things right and get back at the elders for pushing him to do something he did not want."_

Moka stopped packing and sat down on the edge of her bed, wiping away what tears she could with the back of her hands.

"You really think so?"

Inner Moka responded immediately and firmly, _"I know so."_

Still sniffling, her body racked with sobs every now and then, she tried to calm herself by controlling her breathing and willing her tears to stop. Finally, after a few minutes, she was able to breathe normally and managed to stop crying. While she still felt terrible, she at least could function a little better and that allowed her to think and quickly come up with a plan to communicate with Tsukune what had happened.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune was grinning like he had received his Christmas presents early when he walked through the front door of his home. Delicious aromas from the food his mother was cooking wafted through the air and greeted him as he entered, and for the first time he acknowledged his hunger as his stomach grumbled. The door shutting behind him, he walked over to the dining room and sat down at his usual spot on the table.

His mother took a good look at him over the kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room and she noted the smile on his face and the far away look in his eyes, as if he were reliving some moment in his mind. She had a good feeling what may have caused her son's joy, and she was truly happy for him. Why he came home earlier than expected, she did not know and she was actually rather curious about that.

She finally decided to ask him, "You're home early, dear. How did your day go?"

Tsukune, still grinning madly, let out a contented sigh. "It went well, mom." _Very well_.

"That's good to hear," she replied, a little upset that he didn't elaborate more. No matter, she would get the details out of him sooner or later. "So why are you back early?"

"Oh, she said she was feeling really tired and wanted to go to sleep early tonight. That's all." _And she kissed me! I actually kissed a pretty girl!_

"I see." It was taking every ounce of self-control that she had to keep her from pressing him further. She wanted him to enjoy this moment without badgering him for all the tiny details after all. "Well, dinner will be ready soon. Your father should be home any minute now, too!"

"Mmmm..." was all her son said as he continued to stare off into space, his thoughts elsewhere.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was Tsukune that he failed to notice that his father had returned home, even going so far as to rub his son's head a little along with a greeting. When the young Aono did not reply, the patriarch looked to his wife with a questioning glance and was beckoned over to the kitchen.

Kissing his wife in greeting, he asked, "Something happen to the boy?" He began stroking his goatee with concern and glanced over to his son.

Kasumi let out a short laugh, "Oh, something happened alright. Our baby boy is in love, Tetsuo."

"In love, hmm?" There was some more goatee-stroking from the elder male of the family.

"Yes. He has grown to like this girl at school, and he just spent most of today with her because it was her birthday."

Tetsuo slowly smiled as he hugged his wife from behind, eliciting a short cry of surprise from the woman. "Well, good for him! I think I was about his age when I went on my first date. The first of many loves..."

"Oh? Many, huh? Please do remind me of how you were such a player in high school," there was a slight edge in her voice as she said that as she gave him a pointed look.

"But the last love was the best, of course!" he said quickly. "You know what they say, right? Save the best for last. hehe!" he began rubbing her upper back slightly in an attempt to appease her.

Kasumi nodded slowly, pretending to be skeptical. "Mhmmm."

"I mean, you know, none of them were as special as you, Kasumi my love. You know that right, beautiful? Right, my one and only?" He was sweating a little.

She gave him a smirk but avoided answering his question. "Dinner time!"

-**xxxxxx**-

The front door was open by the time Moka made it downstairs with her school suitcase and a small backpack of her most prized possessions. Her other luggage remained upstairs in her room, all packed and ready to go.

Her father stood just outside the door and watched her as she came close. "Are you ready to go, Moka?"

She had a strong urge to tell him that she did not want to go and thus she was not ready to go, but she held her tongue with the help of her inner self. A simple nod was all she responded with and he seemed to be fine with that.

"Very well. Grok! Get your worthless hide over here," he barked towards the black limousine parked right outside. The sound of scurrying feet could be heard as a short figure came into view and stopped at the bottom of the steps to the front door.

The thing had dull, grayish skin that was taut over its muscles and the creature seemed to be barely alive. He had jet black eyes that looked at the Vampire Lord's feet the whole time. "You called, my Lord Shuzen?" Its voice was rough, almost raspy, as if forced through a barely flexible throat.

"Get my daughter's things from her room and put it in the limo," ordered Moka's father.

Grok immediately bowed and scurried up the stairs to get her bags, Moka moving to the side to allow the creature to pass.

"Come, Moka." The tall Vampire Lord spun on his heel, cloak billowing about him, and made his way to the limousine.

She followed, getting in after him and closing the door, leaving the two of them in silence in the passenger compartment of the limo. The seats were of fine leather and were very comfortable, and the temperature was cool and refreshing thanks to the air conditioning of the vehicle. Through the tinted windows, Moka watched Grok handle her luggage with ease; the creature walked around, carrying all the luggages at once seemingly with no effort and quickly placed them into the trunk of the stretch limo.

A moment later and the creature was in the driver's seat and her father told Grok to drive home. The limo began to pull away from the place she considered home for a while now and she watched as it faded from view with her arms crossed over her chest as she felt twin emotions of resentment and frustration well up in her. Fighting back another urge to cry, she snuck a glance at her father.

Issa Shuzen sat with his arms crossed over his shoulders as well, sitting up straight with proper posture and yet also somewhat relaxed. His eyes were closed and he looked rather peaceful, actually, though inside he was far from peaceful. He knew that she would not forgive him anytime soon for bringing her back to their world like this. Having lived for so long, and for much of it as a leader, he knew that this was the price to be paid to do the right thing. Sometimes the right decision is never easy, but someone has to make it and push through with it, particularly when vampires were concerned.

Both passengers remained quiet throughout the car ride, with the younger of the two not having anything to say to her father while the older simply understood that he would be getting the silent treatment or something close to it for a short while. His daughter would come around with time and understand his position on the matter.

The limo traveled through the small streets of the neighborhood and through to the wider main avenues before finally making it onto the highway. It drove around like any other vehicle on the road, garnering little attention beyond the fact that it was a limo and those were uncommonly spotted on the roads. At one point however, the limo entered into a tunnel on the highway at high speed and never emerged from the other side.

Moka had seen it before when she was younger, the traveling in-between dimensions through the various magical tunnels that connected them. All around the limo was darkness and yet at the same time there was a faint light of rolling energy all around the tunnel; it almost seemed like the tunnel itself was alive. After some amount of time, Moka was not sure exactly how long they traveled in there, they finally exited out of the tunnel and onto a dirt road in a wooded area.

There was a fog that hung close to the ground, making it difficult to see farther than twenty feet ahead. As they continued to wind their way through the woods, the fog lessened, until finally up ahead she spotted a giant shadow rising up above the fog.

Situated on a large hill, on the edge of a cliff, was a grand castle that towered over the surrounding lands. It was a magnificent structure to behold for anyone other than those who were in the limo, who were already accustomed to the sight of the massive stone structure. Upon closer inspection, it looked very ancient, with many cracks in the stone and various vines sprawled across the faces of its mighty walls. It was not so much that it looked in disrepair, but simply that it had stood for many centuries.

Issa finally stirred, his eyes fluttering open to reveal fiercely red pupils. They would be arriving at the central courtyard soon, he noted, so he reached out and patted the top of his daughter's left hand, the gesture making her pull her hand away from him as she leveled a steady glare at him.

"Before I forget, Moka, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I'm sorry that it had to be this way today, but... Ask for something and, if I may, I shall grant it."

"I want to go home."

The elder vampire frowned ever so slightly. "But you _are _going home."

"I want to go back to my home in the human world," she corrected, unflinching.

Issa continued to look at his daughter, who still glared at him, and said, "You know I cannot allow that, Moka."

The pink-haired teenager looked away, huffing. Her arms tightened around her. What she wanted was something he would not give her, and she had no interest in anything else at the moment so she had nothing else to say to him. Her inner self stayed silent.

Slowing down, the limo rolled around the circular central courtyard and came to a halt before a wide stone staircase that led to the massive, wooden front doors. Blood-red banners hung down the equally massive stone pillars that framed the doors. On the ground, running from the bottom of the steps to the massive doors was a deep red carpet that matched the banners.

Grok had scurried around the limo and opened the passenger-side door closest to the stairs, letting Moka and her father out.

Pink hair swaying as a breeze picked up in the courtyard, Moka glanced up and took in the sight of a home she had not seen for some time. One that she did not expect to be coming back to in such a manner. She clutched her suitcase close to her chest.

From behind her, Issa Shuzen spoke, "Welcome home, Moka."

* * *

**Author's notes: **And here's another chapter. Somewhat short, I know... sorry it's taken so long to update. Busy would be an insufficient description of my life as of late, but rest assured I have a lot more time in the near future and will be updating quicker.


	7. Missing

**Missing**

* * *

Tsukune woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized. His spirits were high and he had a big smile plastered on his face. The smile of a man who was genuinely happy with his life. After successfully spending Moka's birthday with her and having one of the best days of his life so far, it was hard not to be happy.

He was humming as he made his way downstairs and energetically greeted his parents a good morning, much to their amusement. Both of them were sitting in the dining room, drinking tea. His father was reading the newspaper while his mother was simply relaxing and sipping at her hot, soothing drink.

"Good morning, dear," greeted back his mother. She pointed to the kitchen counter, "Your breakfast is there. Zap it in the microwave to heat it up a little."

"Thanks mom!" he grabbed the plate and proceeded to do just that, wolfing it down almost as quickly as it took to heat it up.

His mother let out a short laugh, "Slow down, Tsukune, what's the rush?"

Through mouthfuls of food, Tsukune replied, "Ummngryyy."

His father put down the paper and took a sip of his tea, his brown eyes shining with amusement. "He's a growing boy, Kasumi. Let him eat in peace."

Kasumi replied, "He can eat in peace with proper manners."

Tsukune was already finished, slurping up the last of his food. Sheepishly he said, "Sorry mom." At that Tetsuo chuckled and Kasumi could not help but smile at her growing boy.

Tetsuo asked, "So what will you be doing today, son?"

"Oh, I dunno yet dad. I figured I might drop by Moka's place and see if she wants to hang out again. Maybe I'll try and get Rocca and Saito to join us too," replied Tsukune, figuring it was about time his two childhood friends met up with Moka. It had been a while and he wanted them to be friends. He really hoped that they would get along together.

"Ah, so is that her name? Moka?" said Tetsuo with a smile, trying out the name for himself. "Hmmm... well I hope to meet this Moka sometime soon, son. Gotta make sure she's right an- _oof_!"

There was a slight commotion under the table as Kasumi kicked her husband in the shin, eliciting a short cry of pain.

Tetsuo grimaced, rubbing his leg. "That hurt!" He turned to his wife who gave him a look, clearing her throat for emphasis. He simply nodded back at her, getting what she meant and shutting up.

Tsukune was already washing his dishes by the time this happened, humming to himself the whole time and oblivious to the little commotion in the dining room. Once he was done, he made his way to the front door.

"Tell your friends I said hello, and that they're welcome to come by and have dinner with us!" Kasumi called after her son, who bade them goodbye and made his way out.

-**xxxxxx**-

It was nice and sunny out, the clouds few and far between. That meant it was a pretty hot day and he wondered if his friends might be interested to go to nearby Sanuke Park, which had a nice big lake that they could swim in. He was glad that he decided to wear shorts and a light shirt, else he might be overheated by the time he rounded up his friends.

He decided to drop by Saito's place first, since it was closer than Rocca's, and he texted Rocca to meet him there if he was free. He answered back a few seconds later and said he was on his way.

Rocca Higashi, because he was wealthy enough, lived rather far in a separate subdivision that had larger houses and more land per household than any other in the area. It was a gated community, with nice slightly wider streets and well-manicured landscaping. They even had a country club, though Rocca was only ever there when his parents forced him to accompany them, and it had been a while since that had ever happened. Since he was their only son, they did often let him have his way, even letting him go to the local public high school instead of enrolling at the prestigious private academy about forty minutes away. Rocca had visited before and he did not like it over at the academy where it was too rigid and somewhat stressful for him, opting instead for the freer and "more fun" public high school.

Saito Mori lived with his mother in a modest home close to a nearby dojo. When he wasn't helping his mother around the house or playing video games, he spent his time at the dojo honing his martial arts skills. His father had been a famous fighter once, one of the best in all of Japan, but he died at a young age due to health complications. Those health complications drained what wealth he was able to attain throughout his fighting career, though there was a good enough sum left to support the family he left behind, Saito's mother had to work part-time at the local market to ensure they could continue to live comfortably.

Like a hundred, if not a thousand, times before he reached the gate of Mori home and let himself in. He then rang the doorbell and waited by the front door. Knowing Saito, he was probably playing video games since the dojo was closed on Sundays.

Sure enough, Saito answered the door with a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Tsukune! Good to see you, buddy. Come in, I was just playing the latest Tekken game. You play it before?"

Tsukune shook his head as he stepped through the doorway, gripping the orange-haired teen's hand as their shoulders bumped to finish the greeting. "Nope. Rocca's coming over by the way."

"Oh great! We can all play some Tekken then."

"Well, I was actually hoping we could go hang out with Moka today... maybe visit Sanuke Park?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Saito flashed a smile, "Uh, yeah. Sure. Why not? Sanuke Park is kinda far to walk though..."

"Rocca has a driver remember?"

"Oh, riiiight. Good call," Saito said as he led Tsukune up into his room. "Rich bastard," he added jokingly as he sat down in front of the decent-sized TV he had in his room, picking up a game controller and resuming his playing.

Tsukune asked, "Where's your mom?"

Somewhat distractedly, Saito replied, "Oh. Uh. She's over at, uh, my aunt's place downtown. I think she's helping them with their newborn. Right... I have a new cousin now!"

Tsukune laughed and looked around the room, the sounds of fighting filling the air thanks to the video game. Not much had changed over the many years that he had been visiting the Mori home. It was pretty messy with clothes, books, and other things scattered everywhere. His bed was not made and there was a slight smell of sweat that hung in the air, almost like a gym, but masked somewhat by an air freshener. The window was open, the drapes pulled, letting the strong sunshine stream in as a small fan propped up on the window sill spun and helped to create a draft.

Saito snapped him out of his observations, "Alright, I'm done with that level. Let's play!"

Tsukune grinned, taking a seat on the floor next to his good friend and grabbing the other controller. "OK!"

After a few rounds of losing miserably to Saito, much to his chagrin and the other's amusement, the doorbell rang and caused Saito to pause their latest round.

"Must be Rocca!" he cried as he jumped up and went to answer the door.

Sure enough, a few seconds later Saito and Rocca filed into the room.

"Hey Tsukune!" Rocca greeted, extending his hand out as Saito plopped down next to Tsukune and resumed their match.

Tsukune high-fived him as the boy walked around them and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching them play. Or rather, watching Saito beat Tsukune mercilessly.

"Wow, you really suck at this game," breathed Rocca, snickering.

Tsukune glared at him, offering him the controller. "Shut up! Why don't you play and see how you do?"

Rocca accepted the controller, and nodded. "Let me show you how it's done, Tsukune."

"I only just got this game a few days ago, but I think I'm a natural at it," Saito boasted as they went about picking their characters.

Sure enough, once the battle actually begun, Rocca proved to be far more skilled than Tsukune.

Saito grinned eagerly as the fight went on, "Finally, someone who can put up a challenge. Let's see who's the king of this game!"

In the end, Tsukune was the only one who had not won a single fight between the three of them, which he was a tad embarrassed about particularly because the other two teens made fun of him for it.

"Ugh, alright can we go now?" Tsukune asked, putting the controller down a little roughly in disgust after losing again, this time to Rocca.

"Fine, fine. I guess we've played enough for now," conceded Saito as he stood up and stretched.

Rocca gave them a confused look and asked, "Where are we going? What's up?"

Saito turned and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Tsukune as he explained, "Well, loser here wants to go get Moka and then spend time all together at Sanuke Park."

"Ah! Well, okay I guess that's cool..." said Rocca as he looked to Tsukune.

"Great! So let's go pick her up and then we can head over to the park."

Saito motioned towards the door, "After you, ladies."

Tsukune snorted and shoved him in the shoulder, Rocca following after him and giving Saito a shove as well, making the young Mori chuckle.

Realizing that dropping by unannounced would be rude, Tsukune texted ahead to Moka that he was coming, figuring that she must be awake already since she often woke up earlier than him on the weekends and it was getting to about lunch time already.

Rocca's driver was smoking a cigarette across the road when they walked out, a cigarette which he quickly threw down and stomped on before walking over and unlocking the car. He was shorter than Saito, but taller than either Tsukune or Rocca, and he was more built with wider shoulders and a broader chest than their tall friend. With blue eyes and dirty blonde hair to go along with his fair skin, it was easy for him to stick out even when he was not wearing a nice suit all the time.

A foreigner by the name of Ramsey, he used to be in the SAS, the British special forces unit. He did not like to talk much about his past, but whatever his skillset and his experience, it was enough for Rocca's parents to hire him out when they found out he was in Japan - and in need of a job.

"Where to, Rocca?" he asked as he opened the driver door and the teens piled into the luxury car, a BMW; there was more than enough space for the three of them in the back.

Rocca replied, "Tsukune here will direct us."

Tsukune gave the driver Moka's address and off they went. When they got to the block where Moka lived, Tsukune checked his phone and noted that she had yet to reply. He wondered why that was but thought nothing of it. Maybe she decided to sleep in since she did say she was extra tired the previous night. They stopped in front of Moka's home, Tsukune getting out of the car to get her.

Tsukune walked up to the gate, which was surprisingly unlatched and open, as if someone had just walked in and forgot to close it properly.

"That's odd..." Tsukune murmured his gaze drifting up towards the front door of the house as he grabbed the gate. The front door was wide open.

His insides tightened as he swung the gate open and hurriedly reached the front door, knocking loudly on it and poking his head through, calling out, "Moka? Moka? Are you in here?"

Only silence greeted him as he stepped further into the home, his heart rate increasing with each step. Looking around, there was no indication that anything bad had happened. Everything was in place and tidy. That for the moment calmed him down, though he still felt like something was amiss. There was a creaking upstairs like someone was walking around.

"Moka?" he called out again, his attention turned towards the stairs. "Moka is that you?"

He quickly ascended the steps and made his way to Moka's room. He froze at the doorway, unable to comprehend at first what he was seeing, or rather what he was not seeing. There was nothing there. Her room was completely bare.

"What the hell...?" he said, absolutely confused about what was going on. What had happened to Moka? Where did she go?

He ventured further into her room, looking all around several times, blinking hard and shaking his head in disbelief as if he was simply imagining things. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he was in a dream and he pinched himself to be sure, but nothing happened. Another pinch, and still nothing.

"I can assure you that you're not dreaming," said a sultry voice from the doorway.

He whirled around in surprise, taking a step back as his gaze landed on the dark-haired beauty before him. There was something oddly familiar about her. "W-Who are you?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," she smiled, showing perfect white teeth. He noted that her canines seemed sharper and longer than usual. And her eyes. He had never seen anyone with red pupils before. They seemed to glow as they stared back at him and he could not help but be mesmerized a little by them. Almost as if they were calling to him.

She was leaning against the doorframe, her hands crossed over her chest and her hands tucked in the crook of her arms. Her curves were accentuated by the tight-fitting black collared shirt that was loosely buttoned and a gray skirt that was a little looser fit to allow better movement. Her knee-high combat boots looked shiny and pristine, the whole outfit giving off a strong and sexual vibe.

"I'll find out...? What? What's going on?"

She laughed, a light and alluring laugh that quickened his pulse. He was not sure why he was feeling like this. It seemed like his body was reacting on its own and nothing he could do could make him resist her charms. Not that he minded, or at least he didn't think he minded. He was not so sure anymore as he took a step closer to her, having a growing urge to be near her.

"Where's... where's Moka? Do you know...?" he managed to ask, taking another step forward.

She smirked, her eyes locked on to his. He was trying really hard to stop, but he felt powerless to control his own body as it moved on its own.

She finally responded to him, "Oh, why yes, Tsukune dear. I know where she is."

"Really? What happened? Where... where did she go?" he blurted out.

The black-haired girl ran a hand through her hair, playing with it. "Come a little closer and I'll tell you."

"Okay," he said without really meaning to as he tried to keep his distance. Something about all this simply felt wrong. Very wrong.

He was practically on top of her, each inhaling the other's scent because of their close proximity. She was slightly taller than him, her red eyes even more intense up close.

"Mmm..." she said as she breathed in deeply, "I can see why she likes you."

Tsukune said, "Huh..?" He had a confused look on his face.

Suddenly, voices from downstairs echoed throughout the house, causing both of them to turn and look down the hall towards the stairs.

"Tsukune! Hey Tsukune! You in here?" called out the familiar strong voice of Saito.

Rocca's voice followed, "Come on man! Stop making out and get down here already. We're tired of waiting."

"And Rocca's hungry. You know how he gets when he's hungry!" Saito added.

"Hey~!" Rocca said in protest, though he didn't say anything more after.

When Tsukune turned back, the dark-haired beauty was gone and he had full control of his body again. He shook his head, as if coming out of a daze, and then looked around the empty room. The woman was nowhere to be found and he wondered if he had simply imagined the whole thing.

Footsteps from the hallway indicated that his two friends had come up in search of him.

"He's probably making out with her right now. Why don't we just- uh, Ts-Tsukune?" Saito said as they passed in front of Moka's room and he spotted his friend in the middle of the empty space, looking lost.

Rocca peeked into the room as well, giving him a questioning glance. "What's going on, man?"

Tsukune shook his head and looked at them gravely. "I don't know, guys. I... she's just... she's gone."

Rocca and Saito shared a concerned look.

Gesturing around the room, Tsukune repeated, "She's gone."

-**xxxxxx**-

The three teens were outside on the sidewalk by the car, discussing what their options were. They had asked Ramsey to check the place out and tell them his thoughts on what had happened. Him being special forces and all, they figured he might be able to analyze the place better and come up with potential scenarios.

"I mean, should we call the police?" asked Rocca, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the BMW.

Saito shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it doesn't look to me like she was kidnapped or forced to leave. I mean, her stuff was all packed away."

"But why would she leave?" Tsukune questioned, his gaze directed at the ground as leaned against the wall that separated the small front yard of the house and the sidewalk.

No one had an answer to that question, especially since Saito and Rocca didn't even really know her.

"Is she still not answering her phone?" Saito asked.

Tsukune shook his head, though he flipped open his phone and checked anyway. Nothing. There was no response. He had called her more than a dozen times, each time the call would ring and then go into voicemail. His numerous text remained unanswered, and he was getting very worried. Maybe it was time to involve the police in the matter._  
_

"Well boys," said Ramsey as he emerged from his inspection of the place, "There were no signs of forced entry. No signs of a scuffle anywhere or any signs of violence at all actually." All three teens were looking at him intently. "If I had to guess, I'd say she got up and left on her own will. Either that, or - and this is rather unlikely - she was kidnapped elsewhere and then her things meticulously collected by her kidnappers."

Rocca sent him a look that said 'why would you say that?' as he shot a worried glance over to Tsukune, who had visibly stiffened at the news.

"So you're... you're saying that it _is_ possible she was kidnapped?"

Ramsey shrugged noncommittally. "Possible? Yes. Probable? Not very."

Tsukune had been careful not to mention anything about the black-haired woman who had been in there with him, lest he be thought to be crazy, but now he had a firmer belief that she was real. She had to be real. And he needed to find her again to know what happened to Moka. But how he was going to do that he had no idea.

It still hadn't really hit him yet that she was gone. That he could not simply go and meet up with her anymore to see her. A part of him wanted to believe that she was fine and something had simply come up that prompted her to leave so abruptly. That she would get in touch with him soon enough to let him know that she was okay and that they can see each other again soon. But another part of him was filled with dread that something terrible had happened, though he was less inclined to believe in that possible reality than the former.

"So..." Rocca broke the silence that had settled between them, "What now?"

It was Ramsey who suggested the next course of action. He looked at each of them seriously, "If I were you, I'd report to the police first and see what they can do. They'll most likely be able to contact Moka's family and inquire about her whereabouts. For all we know she simply moved back in with her family or went on a surprise trip with them; you did say it was her birthday right?" He looked at Tsukune, who nodded.

"Alright. Let's go then, kids. The sooner we find out the better," said Ramsey as he walked around the BMW, unlocking it.

-**xxxxxx**-

Akua watched from the shadows of a nearby tree, perched on one of its branches. No one really looked up into the trees, plus her outfit allowed her to blend into the dark shadowy areas of the tree better, so it was a good place to hide in broad daylight while also giving an excellent view of the scene below. She watched with amusement as they scurried about, her sensitive hearing picking up on their discussion.

She noted that Tsukune had not mentioned her at all to his friends. Smart. Though she was not sure if perhaps she overdid her charms so as to make him totally forget about the experience once she left and released him. No matter, she would find a better opportunity next time to get better acquainted with her little sister's human friend.

The memory of his scent washed over her again and she licked her lips absently. He smelled so delicious that it was difficult to control herself in the house. She wanted to feast on him right then and there, but she waited. She would be patient. Part of the thrill was in the chase after all.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Oh my!  
The next chapter will be at least twice as long as this. Also please note this is AU, in case that wasn't clear. Thanks!


	8. Sunday School

**Sunday School**

* * *

Moka cried into her pillow, clutching it tightly as her body was racked by sobs. It was pathetic, as her inner voice had told her numerous times already, to cry like that over one human boy. But she could not help it. She really liked him and things had been going so well. To have it all swept out from under her like that had hit her deep.

She looked at her phone, half-expecting Tsukune to call her and wonder where she was. It was two o'clock in the morning though, and she knew he was sound asleep. If he happened to drop by her house, he would find the letter he had left him. She wanted to text him and explain everything, but she felt a handwritten letter would be better.

Calling him now would be a mistake. She didn't trust herself to speak to him directly about what was happening and why she had to leave so abruptly. There was so much to tell, so much to explain, and she couldn't do that on the phone. She couldn't even do it through the letter she wrote - the letter simply told him that something urgent came up and that she had to go. Furthermore, it told him to meet her after school on Monday at the park where she had run off to on the first day of school.

_"It's a mistake going back there so soon,"_ her inner self spoke up as she became aware of her thoughts. _"If father finds out..."_

"He won't," Moka replied firmly, squeezing the pillow against her.

_"But if he does, the punishment will no doubt be severe. He might even kill Tsukune. This is very risky."_

"He wouldn't." Moka paled at the thought, slowly regaining composure as the sobs returned less frequently and her tears slowed.

_"You know he would, if it meant keeping you from returning there after being explicitly told that you must remain in the monster world."_

Her inner self was making too much sense, and she didn't like it. Her whole situation was unfair, and she had half a mind to fight against everyone trying to control her, but she had obeyed. Now all she wanted was to at least explain to Tsukune, to let him know that she did not leave because she wanted to, but because she was made to against her wishes. She wanted to let him know that she still wanted to be his friend, because he was her first friend and that truly meant something to her.

_"Are you seriously going to tell him everything? That we're vampires? You know what that might lead to."_

Moka tried not to think about it, finally giving in to the exhaustion that crept into her bones and shut her moist eyes.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Sir, repeat that name again please?" said the police officer, typing into the computer the name that Tsukune spelled out to him. Slower this time around. The officer deliberately typed each letter once to make sure he got it right.

When they got to the local police station and explained their situation to the front desk, the officer at the front desk directed them to the Missing Persons desk, where they now were. There was a nameplate on his desk that read, _Lt. Mano Kajiwara_, as well as a smaller one pinned to his uniform over his left breast that simply read, _Kajiwara_.

Lieutenant Mano Kajiwara looked very puzzled and shook his head as an error message popped up on his screen again. Turning to the three teens and adult that stood in front of his desk, he frowned.

"I'm sorry, but that name isn't coming up in our records," he said apologetically. "There's no file for a Moka Akashiya on any of our databases."

Tsukune looked to his friends in confusion. "That can't be. I mean, that's the name she used at school."

"Perhaps she has a different last name than what she used for the school file, which is entirely possible," offered the policeman with a shrug. "Either way, I can't contact her family, but we'll send out a notice for all officers to keep a lookout if you can give us a description. And we'll send someone over to her house as well to look it over."

Sighing in resignation, he nodded and proceeded to describe Moka to him as well as giving him her address and his cellphone number in case they turn up anything.

The officer thanked him for reporting the incident and then apologized, "Sorry I can't do much more, kid. We'll do our best, I promise."

"Thank you officer." Tsukune and the others walked back to the car in silence, feeling defeated.

Saito scratched his chin and said what they were all thinking, "Don't you find it weird that her name didn't come up in the police databases?"

"Yes, that's very strange indeed. You heard the officer though, it's possible that she simply used a different name at school," commented Ramsey as they all got into the car. "So, where to now?"

Tsukune thought for a moment, what Ramsey just said giving him an idea. "Let's go to the school."

Both Rocca and Saito expressed their surprise at that as Ramsey started the car and began maneuvering out of the precinct parking lot.

"Huh? We're going _where_?" said Saito at the same time that Rocca asked, "_Why_ are we going to the school?"

"We need to check out Moka's school file," explained Tsukune, "It might have her real name-"

Rocca cut him off as he realized something, "And it might have contact information for her family! You're right. Good call, Tsukune."

"Thanks. I hope the info we need is in that file," he replied, noting that Saito was suddenly quiet.

When they got to the school, it being a Sunday, the gates were closed shut. The fence was too high to climb and there was a guard at the gate so trying to break in through there was a no-go. Asking him would prove fruitless since he undoubtedly would not let them in. His job description for the weekends after all was to keep the place secure. No one in or out other than faculty, and it was rare for faculty to come in to school on a Sunday anyway.

"Well, there goes that idea," Rocca lamented about their plan to get to Moka's school file.

"Isn't there any other way inside?" asked Tsukune as he stared at the tall iron gates that barred their way. Attempting to get to her file during school time would be extremely difficult with all the students and faculty around, plus the fact that the more time they wasted the less likely it was that he might find her. That's what he told himself anyway, and it gave him a sense of urgency that he felt was warranted for the situation.

Saito finally stirred, as if coming out of a deep internal deliberation. "I know a way around back. We'll have to get there by foot though, so ditch the car."

Ramsey said, "I'll stay with the car and park across the street. Try not to get caught, okay?"

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka searched high and low the next day, practically ransacking her room in search of her cellular phone and she was yet again on the verge of tears. She remembered putting it on her dresser at some point, but it was not there when she went to get it later on. After the fifth time of searching her room thoroughly, she decided that one of her sister's must have taken it as a cruel joke. She had been there less than twenty-four hours and already her family was giving her trouble.

"Ugh..." she said in frustration. "Who could have taken it?"

_"My guess? Akua," _her inner self chimed knowingly, _"Although Kokoa could have taken it too._"

"Probably... Well, might as well confront them."

No sooner had she opened the door that she came face to face with Kokoa, the youngest of the four Shuzen girls and half her height, who stood there with her hands behind her looking so innocent.

"Hey big sis!" she exclaimed in greeting, her cute little smile displaying straight, white teeth. "What took you so long to come back?"

Moka put on a big smile, though she barely felt it since she was still feeling down, "Hi Kokoa! I've missed you."

"I've missed you more! But it's okay, you're back now. We can pick up where we left off!"

Moka lunged to the right, or more exactly her inner self managed to force her to do so, otherwise she would have been impaled upon a giant hammer with a spike at the end of it that came crashing down where she previously stood, punching a hole into the floor as thin cracks escaped outwards from the punctured floor.

"Kokoa wait! Stop! I'm not in the mood to play!" the pink-haired girl cried as she stumbled backwards, Kokoa stepping into view and lifting the giant spiked hammer with ease. It was twice as big as her and undoubtedly twice if not three times as heavy, but she barely showed any effort in handling it. She had a devilish and amused look in her eyes and her trademark mischievous grin. Before she could swing again, though, a slight cough at the doorway made her freeze, eyes widening as she recognized not only the cough, but the scent and presence of the one who had coughed.

Issa Shuzen spoke sternly to his youngest daughter, "Kokoa... what did I say about playing in your bedrooms?"

"Uhhhh..." was all Kokoa managed to say before Issa reached over and grabbed the spiked hammer from her, the little girl letting it slide through her fingers without any resistance. She looked down at the floor, her hands tucked behind her back.

"Now run along to your room. I'll deal with you later." His tone made it sound like if she went anywhere else besides her room at that moment, she would be in _deeper_ trouble.

Kokoa cast a sideways glance at Moka before running off.

Issa rested the hammer over his right shoulder and "tsk'd" at the hole in the ground before looking over to Moka, who had stood up at that point. He beckoned her over with his free hand, "Come, Moka. We'll be visiting Yokai today. Hopefully you'll start tomorrow, but since classes have already begun they might make you wait until a more opportune time to enter."

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune looked up at the tree that Saito had pointed at and then looked back at his friend. "Are you kidding me? This is your plan! We have to climb _that_!?"

Saito raised an eyebrow at him and responded evenly, "Do you have any better ideas, mister Aono?"

"You _have _done this before, right?" Rocca asked, gulping as he too sized up the tree before them. He did not like his odds of making it over the fence by climbing this tree.

It was not too thick around, with ample lower branches, but it was the higher branches that gave the two pause. They seemed too far apart and too thin to properly support the weight of a human being. Not to mention the fact that they would have to shimmy across one of the longer branches that stretched over the fence.

Saito nodded. "Of course! I've snuck into the school many times before."

"You've snuck into school?" Rocca raised an eyebrow at him. "What for?"

"Uhh.. well... wait a minute, that doesn't matter right now. Let's focus, okay? What matters is that we get inside! So start climbing."

"You go ahead then!" Rocca exclaimed, clearly not wanting to be the first.

"_Fine_. Watch me and do exactly as I do," said Saito as he stretched a little in preparation for the climb.

He got a running start and kicked one foot forward on the trunk of the tree, helping to propel himself high enough to grab the lowest branch.

"Uh, I can't do that," Rocca pointed out nervously.

Saito skillfully climbed up the tree limbs, making sure his footing was secure before moving on to the next branch. Once he got about midway up, where the branches were farther apart, he hesitated for a second and then leaped to the closest higher branch, which was the branch that extended across the fence. It wobbled up and down as he grabbed it with both hands.

Rocca gulped. "Definitely don't think I can do _that_."

Lifting his lower body up, he made sure to grab the branch securely with both hands and he squeezed his legs around it as he began to slowly move down the branch and over the fence.

"I think I'll just go back to the car. You two can handle it, right?" Rocca looked at Tsukune, who had been carefully watching Saito the whole time to make sure he understood how to do it properly.

"That's probably not a bad idea."

The branch was bending a lot now and Tsukune could've sworn he heard the sound of wood cracking as Saito finally let go, clear over the fence, and landed in some bushes. He emerged, a little scraped up, but safe and he beamed at them. He said, "See? Not so bad!"

Rocca stood by the tree and looked at Tsukune expectantly.

"I thought you were going to the car?" asked Tsukune as he prepared to climb.

The chubby guy waved towards the tree, "I'll wait until you get over the fence. In case you fall, you know? Maybe I can catch you."

"You're going to catch me if I fall?" Tsukune repeated with a grin.

"Note that I said _maybe_."

Tsukune rolled his eyes, "Thanks. I feel a lot better now."

"You're welcome! Now up you go. Stop wasting time."

Getting a running start, Tsukune followed what Saito had done, jumping towards the tree and pushing up with an extended leg off of the bark. His hands extended upwards and clasped the rough low-lying branch, though this branch was thick and it barely registered the extra weight. He managed to pull himself up onto it and proceeded to climb up to the point where Saito had jumped, making sure to solidify his footing and balance before moving to the next branch.

"Hey! Not bad, Tsukune," Saito called out as he watched him climb.

Tsukune finally got to the jumping portion, and similar to Saito he hesitated, but this time for much longer. The jump definitely looked farther and more difficult from up here than it did from down there, and the possibility of missing it and dropping to the ground, or worse onto the fence, kept him from leaping.

"It may look far, but it's not _that_ far. You can do it, Tsukune! Trust me," Saito told him from over the fence.

"And if you fall, I'll try and catch you," Rocca added.

"Shut your mouth, Rocca! You're not helping," Saito snapped at him.

Tsukune shook his head. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make the gap, but he needed to try. If he wanted to get closer to finding out where Moka had gone and how to get to her, he needed to take the leap. With a sudden roar he launched himself towards the far branch, arms outstretched.

"YEAH! Way to go, Tsukune!" both Saito and Rocca exclaimed as he managed to grab onto the higher branch with both hands.

His blood was pounding at his temples and his breathing was quick, a slight sweat forming on his brow, but he smiled. He had done it. Copying Saito's movements, he started to move across the branch, when there was a cracking sound that came from the tree, the branch buckling slightly. Tsukune gripped the wood tightly, suddenly fearful. Another cracking sound, the branch was starting to bend a lot more.

"Don't just stay there! MOVE YOUR ASS TSUKUNE!" yelled Saito, realizing what was happening and getting very worried.

Tsukune obeyed, moving his feet and arms as quickly as he could. And then without warning the branch simply gave and broke off.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka endured another silent car ride with her father, watching the scenery pass by once again. There was no fog this time around, the sun shining high above and illuminating everything. The heavily tinted windows minimized the sunlight that entered the car. Not that sunlight was a problem for vampires, much to the disappointment of humans if they ever found out.

No one was really sure when that myth started about vampires being weakened and possibly even killed by sunlight, but it was a myth that the vampires tolerated because it helped to dispel the reality of their existence. And even for those people who believed they existed, the myth still allowed for vampires to operate freely during the day.

Darkness engulfed the limo once more as it sped through the dimensional tunnel, emerging some time later at the top of some rocky bluffs looking over a blood red sea. There was a scarecrow with a pumpkin head to the right of the tunnel entrance made of a six foot tall wooden cross with the pumpkin placed at the top and a torn up school uniform draped over the horizontal section. At either end of that horizontal section were white gloves, strangely clean even having been out in the elements for who knew how long.

The body of the scarecrow was a rectangular sign set up longways vertically, and it read: **Private School - Yokai Academy_._ **

Somewhat menacingly, a dead oak tree hovered over the scarecrow, the holes on its bark making it appear as if it had a face. She wondered if it was indeed alive, perhaps some defensive guardian in case this dimension ever got attacked.

She had never been to Yokai Academy before, so she was actually curious to see what it looked like. Even though she did not want to go, it was still a magical place that she had heard about where all monsters of various classes and races were brought together and educated.

They turned and entered into a creepy-looking and dead forest, which slowly turned into a livelier and more colorful forest. Eventually, the limo came to a stop, and Moka could see up ahead the grand gates of Yoka Academy, and the magnificent gothic-style school itself that rose up behind it.

The door opened, Grok standing by it, much to the surprise of the pink-haired Moka.

"We walk from here, Moka," her father told her.

She gave a nod and stepped out, followed closely by her father. He brushed off some dirt from his original 18th century suit, a black, gold, and red piece of fine tailoring and walked ahead, his black cloak billowing behind him.

There were a few students about and it was safe to assume that their attention was focused solely on the newcomers. Not only because they arrived in a limo, but because her father was a commanding figure who radiated power, and it was difficult _not _to notice him. Moka would even go so far as to say it was impossible not to notice him unless he was in the company of the other elders.

They wound their way through the school and eventually reached the headmaster's office, where they were let in to see him immediately.

The headmaster was shorter than Issa and a little shorter than Moka even, though he too exuded great power beneath his voluminous white robes. Around his neck hung a simple white rosary that blended into his white robes. His face was hidden beneath a great white hood and only his eyes and the lower part of his chin could be seen. Those eyes glowed with an ethereal power and they seemed almost like the headlights of a car emerging from a dark tunnel.

"Ah, Lord Shuzen, good to see you," he greeted, extending his hand as the two of them shook.

"Mikogami, my old friend. It has been a while, hasn't it?" replied the vampire lord, thinking for a moment. "I'd say a few decades at least."

"Perhaps," said the white-robed figure with gleaming eyes, "I care little for the passage of time, as you know." They both chuckled, and then the headmaster turned to look at Moka.

She could feel him sizing her up, his glowing eyes seemingly penetrating into her soul. She shivered ever so slightly, holding his gaze.

"This must be your beloved daughter," Mikogami stated.

Moka half-bowed out of respect. "I am Moka Akashiya, Headmaster Mikogami. Pleased to meet you," she said formally.

"And I, you." The headmaster turned to the vampire lord, "Well, Issa, she is quite strong. Even with her powers sealed I can feel her true form. A testament to the Shuzen and Akashiya bloodlines, no doubt."

Issa bowed his head, accepting the praise with a smile.

Mikogami continued, "She is of course most welcome here at Yokai, and she can start whenever she wishes. All I ask is that you give me warning so that there can be a room prepared and her teachers can be informed of her arrival."

Issa nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Thank you, Tenmei." Turning to his daughter he said, "Moka, would you please wait outside for a moment my dear? I would like a word with the headmaster in private."

"Of course, father." Moka bowed her head to both of them and left the office.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune groaned. His body was stiff, his back, neck, and butt hurt, and he it was difficult to breathe. There was also a ringing in his ears that slowly gave way to the voices of his friends.

"Tsukune! Come on, man wake up!"

"There, he's moving."

"That's it! Get back to us, Tsukune."

"Come on buddy."

Opening his eyes, he noted that he was on the ground close to the fence. Crouched over him was Saito, who had a worried expression on his face that slowly turned into relief when he noticed that Tsukune was moving around and conscious.

Outside the fence sat Rocca, also with a concerned and horrified expression that gave way to joy and relief.

Saito asked, "How are you feeling? Anything broken?"

Tsukune thought about that for a moment as he moved his arms and then his legs. He could wiggle his fingers and his toes too. No. Nothing felt broken. In truth, the pain he initially felt was already subsiding to a dull ache.

"I... I think I'm fine... just... a little out of breath..." he said with a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Thank goodness you're okay," Rocca breathed, "I seriously thought you were _dead_. I mean, one second you were moving across the branch, the next you were falling and we started screaming and oh man... I need to calm down."

Saito gripped Tsukune's shoulder. "Yeah, you had us worried there. I was about to go and get the guard... whoa, take it easy there. You fell pretty hard and pretty far," he said when Tsukune slowly, with some effort, sat up.

Tsukune waved him off, "I'm fine. Really. I just need to catch my breath. Everything aches, but it isn't so bad."

Standing up, Rocca said, "Okay. I'm heading back to the car. You have my cell if you need to reach me."

After about another minute, Saito helped Tsukune to his feet, making sure to stand close by in case he needed support. Initially feeling wobbly, he quickly felt better and got his balance.

"Thanks," he said to Saito, who was shaking his head, causing Tsukune to give him a questioning look.

"You know what this means, right?"

Tsukune shook his head. "No. What?"

"It means your _fat_."

A shove in the shoulder and they were off to walk towards the rear entrance of the school, walking past the outdoor basketball and tennis courts as well as the soccer field on the way there.

"So, how do we get in?" Tsukune asked as they neared the rear doors of the main school building.

Saito grinned, "Easy. We walk right in. The doors are unlocked."

"Really? That simple?"

"They don't have a need to lock the doors since the fence, the gate, and the guards up front deter anyone from attempting to get in. Not that there are a lot of people itching to get into school during the weekend, but, you know."

Tsukune was relieved that they would not have to attempt any more crazy stunts to get in. "Well that makes it easy."

Sure enough, Saito pulled on the doors and they swung open without a hitch. They wandered through the eerily empty hallways of the school, noting how much colder it was compared to outside. Tsukune shivered as he passed under an air conditioning vent, the AC apparently still running even on the weekends.

"Hey Saito."

"Yeah?"

"You know an awful lot about the school during the weekends."

Saito had his hands in his pockets, but otherwise he did not look as cold as Tsukune felt. He mumbled some reply that Tsukune didn't understand at all.

"What was that you said?" he asked him.

Saito glanced at him almost ashamedly, "I've had to come in during the weekends sometimes, when I'm not caught up on my school work."

"But then why sneak in if it's an official thing?"

The athlete let out a long sigh, looking down at the ground as they walked along. "Sometimes I sneak in here during the weekends to use the gym too, and that's not an official thing."

Making their way to the main office, located up front, they walked in without any trouble and headed for the registrar's office. That door was, unfortunately for them, locked tight.

"Damn it. It's locked. You don't happen to know how to pick a lock, do you?" Saito asked as he tried to turn the doorknob, only able to jiggle it a little as the lock held.

"Unfortunately not," responded Tsukune, trying the door himself as if by his touch the thing would miraculously open.

Saito sighed, "So what do we do? I could break down the door maybe?"

Tsukune was against that idea. "No, we can't make it obvious that someone broke in. That'll raise too much attention and maybe even suspicion. I'd like to get in without causing any unnecessary trouble."

"I guess that makes sense. But... now we're stuck."

Tsukune thought for a moment. What they needed was a key. Without one their only other option would be to break the door down, and that was for him out of the question. So who would have keys to the registrar's office besides the registrar?

"Do you know where the janitor's office is?" Tsukune turned to Saito, who nodded.

"Yeah, I can get there. I don't think it's open though."

Tsukune shrugged, "It's worth a shot. If it happens to be open, look for the registrar's office key, or even a master key if you happen to find one."

Saito walked off, mumbling, "I hope the keys are labeled."

In the meantime, Tsukune decided he would check to see if the principal's office was open. The only other person he could think of who might have the master key or sets of keys to the school would be the principal.

Winding his way around the tight corridors of the main office, he stopped in front of a large blue door with the word, **PRINCIPAL**, engraved into a wooden nameplate that hung on the door. Trying the door, he couldn't help but smile when it offered no resistance and opened easily.

A corner room, the principal's office was dark thanks to the thick blinds that were drawn over the two large windows on perpendicular walls. Finding the light switch, he flicked on the lights and made his way around the solid, wooden desk that sat in the center of the space. Rummaging through all the open drawers - some were locked - he tried to look for the master key or the key to the registrar's office.

On the very bottom drawer, he reached for the back where he imagined someone might stash a hidden key, and sure enough his hand bumped into cold metal and the jingling of keys could be heard for a split second.

"Jackpot," he whispered with a toothy smile.

He made his way back to the registrar's office, noticing that Saito was not back yet. His friend must have found the door open. Not that it mattered since he could get in now with the principal's keys. Sifting through the collection, he found the one he wanted and inserted it firmly into the lock. Taking a breath, he twisted the key and heard the click of the lock disengaging.

A moment later and he sat down in front of the registrar's computer, where as luck would have it the registrar had not logged off. Most likely that was because the registrar didn't think anyone wanted to get into her office or even could get all the way to her office.

Navigating the registrar program, he searched for 'Moka' as a first name, since he could not trust that Akashiya was the name used in her file. The program pinged, a notice indicating 1 match had been found.

Tsukune clicked on it.

-**xxxxxx**-

"I want you to enroll starting tomorrow, so make sure your things are ready," said Lord Issa Shuzen as he emerged from the headmaster's office with an unreadable expression.

Moka was quick to reply in as steady a voice as she could muster, "Father, I was hoping I might take tomorrow to... come to terms with my new situation. If I may, I'd like to enroll starting Tuesday instead."

Issa was silent as they retraced their steps through the halls of Yokai Academy, footsteps echoing through the mostly empty building. He thankfully nodded after a while, fully aware that his daughter had spent more hours crying than anything else since she had returned to the Shuzen castle. "Very well. Grok will take you to Yokai on Tuesday."

"Thank you, father." A small and sorely needed victory.

-**xxxxxx**-

**_Moka Akashiya_ Shuzen**

Tsukune stared at the screen. Shuzen was her legal last name, according to the file, and her only listed relative is a father named Issa Shuzen. There was only a phone number given as contact information. He reread her name a few more times. Something about the Shuzen name rang familiar to him.

His phone started ringing, buzzing in his right pants pocket, and he fumbled for it and flipped it open. It was Rocca.

"Are you guys okay? Were you able to find her file? I can't seem to reach Saito," asked Rocca, the worry in his voice evident.

"That's strange, I'll try and find him. Anyway, yeah I'm looking at the file right now, Rocca. Her last name is actually Shuzen."

"Shuzen... as in _the_ Shuzen family? With an 's'?"

Tsukune shrugged, then realized that his friend couldn't see him. "I don't know. Is there only one?"

"Well, there's only one prominent one. Does it list any relatives?"

"Yeah, her father. Issa Shuzen."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. I-S-S-A Shuzen."

The response was immediate. "Holy shit."

Tsukune was now worried. It sounded like that was a bad thing. "What is it? Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just... That guy is one of the wealthiest people in the world, Tsukune. He's like an... ultra billionaire. And even more ultra reclusive," Rocca informed him, both of them shocked and in awe. "Few people see him in private, even fewer still in public."

"Whoa..." was all Tsukune managed to say. Moka was a _billionaire? _That explained a lot about how she was able to live out here on her own and to have such a nice place too. "How do you know about the Shuzen family anyway?"

"My parents' bank works closely with some of the companies that the Shuzens own, and some of them are even their biggest clients ."]

"Well, this is unexpected, but good news nonetheless since that means we at least have an idea of how we might go about tracking her down," Tsukune said, happy that they had made some progress.

"That also means that, should Moka end up kidnapped or something... well, he has the resources to literally move heaven and earth to find her," added Rocca. That was indeed a comforting thought, should this turn into a worst case scenario.

His phone began to vibrate, indicating that someone else was calling him. Pulling the phone away for a second, he checked to see who was calling him.

_**Saito **_

Tsukune got back on the phone and spoke quickly to Rocca, "Hey man, Saito's calling me. I'll see you out there as soon as I meet up with him."

"Okay. Try not to kill yourself getting out!" was the last thing Rocca said before Tsukune switched over and answered Saito's call.

"Where the heck are you slowpoke? Got lost? I found a key and am in already. Get your butt over to the main office," Tsukune said lightheartedly and with a small smile. The reply he got wiped the smile off of his face and very nearly made him drop his phone.

"I think you need to get _your_ butt over here, _Tsukune Aono_. Your friend is... well, let's just say he's lost a _lot_ of blood," replied a chillingly familiar, sultry voice. "See you soon."

* * *

**Author's notes: **You didn't expect that, did you? Muahahahaha


	9. Turned for the Worse

**Turned for the Worse**

* * *

Tsukune pocketed his phone immediately, heart racing as he came bursting out from the main office with such force that the hinges of the door he came through buckled. He ran towards the janitorial office, feet pounding against the smooth, hard floors while he navigated the hallways of the empty school. All he could think about were the woman's words before she hung up.

The door to the office was open, the light on inside, when he got to it. Dread and panic filled him as he entered, yelling "Saito!" while looking around desperately for any sign of his best friend. He wasn't there however, and instead he found a gaping hole in the cement wall. A hole that went through a few more rooms and into the main gymnasium where the indoor basketball courts were.

Dust was still settling around the hole, with some broken pipes leaking water and spewing smoke as some steel reinforcement bars protruded from the broken edges of the walls, most of them crooked and bent.

Tsukune tried hard not to imagine the horrors that Saito had faced with this woman as he jumped through the rough openings torn into the walls. Leaping into the gymnasium, his shoes squeaking against the waxed wooden floor, he cursed how dark it was in there. Almost as if on cue, half of the lights turned on, providing some illumination. That was when he spotted him.

Lying face down in the center of the main basketball court was Saito.

"SAITO!" he exclaimed fearfully as he approached, afraid of the worst as he noted the vast amount of blood that had pooled around him.

Saito's orange hair was half soaked with fresh blood, turning part of it red. His skin looked deathly pale and one of his legs looked like it was bending the wrong way. His right arm appeared to be broken in multiple places and dislocated at the elbow based on the way it was resting. The fingers on his left hand looked crushed and twisted like someone had stomped it with their boot. Bruises covered his exposed skin, and there was a lot of exposed skin because his clothing was ripped all over, cuts of varying sizes crossing this way and that in between and even over the bruises.

Tsukune stumbled to the side and dry heaved twice before finally vomiting from the grisly sight. It took him another half minute to compose himself enough to look back at his tortured friend. Wiping away some of the mess from around his mouth, he trudged closer to the prone figure.

He then dropped to his knees and immediately teared up, not caring that his friend's blood was soaking into his shorts and was getting onto his knees. Never in his life had he imagined that something like this would ever happen. Saito, one of his close childhood friends, looked to be dead and he could not help but blame himself.

Closer inspection revealed that he was still breathing, but only barely, and it amazed him to see that even after all that Saito had suffered, he still lived. Through his increasingly blurry vision, he could see the slightest of movements in his friend's torso, indicating that he was still breathing; showing that he was still fighting to live. If Tsukune could get help fast enough, they might still be able to save him. Even though the chances of that looked slim given his injuries, he had to try.

He reached for his phone to call for help when something abruptly smashed into the side of his head, the force of the blow sending him sprawling several feet away into an unconscious mess.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Too easy," she remarked casually, lowering her leg from the kick she delivered and then slowly moseying over to the unconscious, dark-haired young man.

Akua knelt down on one knee, taking in his sweet, delicious scent. Her tongue darted out and licked her lips absently. Even after feeding on his friend with the orange hair, his blood was seriously tempting her. But again she held herself back. It wasn't time yet. This young man had a few more tricks before the show was over and she wanted to see him perform.

She slipped her right hand into Tsukune's right pants pocket, where she had noticed him grabbing for his cellphone. With her left hand she took out Moka's phone that she had taken from her little sister's room last night. Every message and voice mail that Tsukune had sent so far she had deleted. It was rather pathetic how he truly tried to get to her.

There was no space in the vampire realm for human friends, only human prey, and even that role was pitiful given how easily she had taken out Tsukune and his friend. She also did not like the way Moka was starting to like Tsukune. If allowed to continue, she thought that there was a risk that there might even be a relationships beyond simple friendship, and that was definitely unacceptable.

"Time to end this foolishness," she said to no one in particular, smirking all the while as she texted a brutally honest message to Moka using Tsukune's phone. Once she was done, she deleted Moka's number from his phone and returned it to the proper pocket. Her sister's phone buzzed in her left hand, indicating that the message was received.

Satisfied, she left the gym only to return with some rope as she quickly tied Tsukune up, hanging him by his ankles from one of the rafters.

"Stay put, Tsukuneee," she commanded in a sing-song voice as if he could hear. Stepping back to admire her work before departing, she broke out into a smile as she imagined the impending results of her actions. This was a lot more fun than she had anticipated, though she had hoped there would be some kind of a challenge put up by Tsukune and his friends.

-**xxxxxx**-

It had been a full hour since he last spoke to Tsukune, and the sun was already beginning to set. Rocca was worried for what seemed to him like the millionth time that day. He had texted both of his friends several times in the last hour and neither had replied. Even Ramsey was beginning to feel uneasy, gripping the steering wheel tightly with his left hand and then easing up, only to grip it tightly again in a never ending pattern while his right hand tapped a beat on the dashboard.

"We should check up on them," Rocca said, staring out the window of the car beyond the gates and to the school itself. "They should have gotten out by now. And they should have responded to my messages already."

Rocca began to call his friends. First Tsukune a couple of times and then Saito. Again, neither answered. He at first thought that perhaps this was some kind of joke they were playing on him, since it was not too far fetched to think they might be doing this to make him sweat and worry. But this had gone on for a full on hour now, and he didn't think they would take it that far.

"They're not answering their phones, Ramsey... I think... I think something's wrong," he voiced his concern, tearing his gaze away from the school and towards his driver, bodyguard, and friend.

Ramsey stared long and hard at the tall wrought-iron gates that barred entry into the school, wondering what could possibly have happened that might have incapacitated both of them in there. Had they been caught and gotten in trouble with the authorities, there would have surely been police by now, not to mention commotion at the guardhouse.

He stopped his finger-tapping on the dashboard and got out of the car.

"Where are you going?" asked Rocca, opening the door on his side but not getting out.

"Gonna talk to the guard." Ramsey walked up to the guardhouse, knocking on the reinforced window to try and wake up the sleeping guard. "Hey! Wake up. Wake up in there!"

He started banging on the glass and yelling, but the two guards that he could see didn't move a muscle. They didn't even appear to be breathing. Then he noticed the blood. The front of their uniforms were soaked with it as each was hunched over, and he could barely make out that one of them seemed to have his neck torn open. He shuddered ever so slightly at the thought; he did not expect to see such atrocities here.

Backing away slowly, his right hand slipped underneath his suit jacket, fingers feeling the familiar steel of the grip of his concealed pistol. His eyes darted around, in case the perpetrator was around and saw him, but there was nothing out there except the trees and the wind. He jogged back to the BMW and told his charge to buckle up.

Rocca was confused and wanted to know why Ramsey was acting so strangely. He blurted out a string of questions when Ramsey buckled up himself, "What's going on? Did something happen? Are they in trouble?"

The engine growled to life. "They are in a heap of trouble, Rocca. Someone's killed the guards, and they're probably in their with Tsukune and Saito right now."

The young teen didn't even know how to respond to that, simply gulping and sitting back as he double-checked that his seatbelt was securely fastened.

Tires screeched as he put the BMW in reverse, driving fast and causing them both to be lurched forward by the sudden movement. Once he backed far enough away, Ramsey began to rev the engine.

"Wh-What are you..." Rocca began to say but he didn't finish, cut off by Ramsey's yell.

"Hold on!" He slammed his foot down hard on the accelerator, eliciting protesting screeches from the wheels before they jumped forward with increasing speed towards the iron gates.

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka stepped out of the limo and looked up at the great castle doors. They began to swing open, the ground rumbling as the massive doors moved, stopping once there was enough room for someone to walk through comfortably.

Akua Shuzen emerged from the castle, a look of joy on her face as she neared her arriving family members.

"Father," she greeted first with a bow of her head before turning to the pink-haired teen, "Moka dear."

"Akua," returned the family patriarch. For his part, he at least acknowledged his smiling eldest daughter as he walked by without the slightest pause. Now that his task was done and Moka was all set to be enrolled at Yokai, he had a lot to do and his mind was already thinking ahead to the work.

Once he was well inside and out of earshot, Moka confronted her eldest sister with an accusatory tone. "What have you done to my cellphone?"

Akua looked surprised and hurt at the accusation. "Why, I haven't seen the thing, Moka. Why would you think I had taken it?"

Moka held her gaze on the dark-haired vampiress steady. "This isn't funny anymore, Akua. Where is my phone? I want you to give it back."

"But," replied Akua, "Returning it would imply that I have it. And I can tell you, dearest sister of mine, that I do not have your phone. You can check my pockets if you wish, or even search my room. Though, I'd rather you not mess it up like you have done to your room."

"So you _were _in my room!"

"Oh, just now, yes. I stopped by to see how you were doing, but you weren't there," she frowned as she said the last part, as if actually upset about not finding Moka in her room.

"Hmph." Moka scrutinized her older sister's face, but she wasn't able to tell if she was lying or not. "If I find out that you have my phone..."

"Oh, don't worry. You won't. _Because I don't have it_," replied Akua in an annoyed tone. "While I do love talking to you dear sister, I have some business to attend to. Catch you later, Moka." She flashed Moka a smile and walked over to her own limo, which had just pulled up.

Moka watched her leave, the limo speeding away to wherever she was going.

It took her another three minutes to get to her mess of a room, quietly closing the door behind her as she slipped in. Looking around at the effects of what looked like a category five hurricane, she decided to clean up, hoping that it would help to keep her mind off of everything that had happened.

Within twenty minutes of starting to clean, underneath hodgepodge of books, clothes, and other items, she found her phone.

"Seriously? It was there the whole time?" she said, shaking her head as she leaned down to grab it. Flipping it open, she read the notification that came up on the screen.

**_1 New_ Message  
~Tsukune~**

-**xxxxxx**-

The iron gates were no match for the BMW going over eighty miles an hour as the vehicle blasted through them, knocking them aside forcefully. Not that they escaped unharmed from the incident as Rocca managed to break his nose on the seatback in front of him while the airbag deployed, knocking Ramsey's head back into his own headrest and jarring him.

Glass showered all around them as the windshield shattered once the car hit a tree just outside the school's front entrance, halting their short thrill ride permanently as the engine was totaled in the crash. Thankfully the airbag was still deployed, but the added whiplash after breaking his nose and the stress of the situation knocked out the teen in the back.

Smoke spewed from the crushed engine, the front part of the car bent around the tree like a wrench to a screw.

Dazed and breathing heavily, Ramsey got out of the car, the door opening with some effort and the sound of groaning metal. He stumbled but managed to catch himself, turning to look into the back seat and noticing that his charge was unconscious and bleeding. In hindsight he should have told Rocca to get out and crashed through the gates himself, with the young boy following afterwards. But hindsight was twenty-twenty, and there was no time for dwelling on what could have or should have been.

He quickly went around and got him out, making sure to move him carefully and taking him far enough away from the wreckage that he would be safe should the car happen to explode for whatever reason.

Taking out a handkerchief, he pressed it against the boy's bleeding and broken nose, causing him to stir and groan.

"Hey, you awake?" he asked, noticing Rocca's eyes moving underneath his eyelids.

"I wish... I wasn't... my nose... it hurts," came the slow reply.

"Anything else hurt? Just your nose?"

"... nose..."

Ramsey grabbed the nose through the handkerchief.

"Owww..."

And without any warning he pulled it straight a second later.

"AHH!" Rocca jolted up a little, eyes fluttering open and his hands reaching up to grab at his nose as fresh blood spilled from his nostrils.

"There. It should be set now, but we'll still need to have the doctors look at it once this is over," said Ramsey, "Now I need you to hold your head down and press this kerchief on it to stem the bleeding, okay? And _stay here_. Call the police while you're at it. I think it's about time they got involved."

The former SAS operative didn't waste any more time as he stood up, turned, and ran towards the school entrance, pulling out his pistol. Safety off.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune's head was heavy and throbbing and his ankles were hurting as he slowly came to. For a few seconds after opening his eyes, his vision was blurry and he was wondering why his upper body felt so full and heavy. And then he realized that he was hanging upside down more than forty feet above the hardwood floor of the basketball court.

His cheeks felt damp and there were salt granules in his eyes from the dried tears that he tried to blink away.

He could see Saito still sprawled on the ground in the middle of the court, a pool of red around him, and his heart lurched.

He tried to yell, but a thick rope had been tied around his head and in between his mouth. That was the first time he felt the pain in his jaw muscles because of the rope across his mouth. His hands were bound tightly by the wrists; there was no give.

Looking around in search of the dark-haired woman, he was both relieved and afraid to not find her anywhere. Was she still here, watching him from the shadows? Or did she leave him hanging up there? He hoped that if she had gone, she would not come back. Tsukune figured that his chances of survival were slim enough without her returning.

To escape from his bindings was close to impossible, but even if he did manage to do it, there was the forty foot drop to worry about. _That _was definitely going to hurt, and it might even kill him. He tried to think of a way out of his predicament, but his strength and concentration was ebbing as the seconds ticked by, his blood pooling in his head and making it hard to think.

This was it. This was how Tsukune Aono was going to die. Tied up in the rafters of his school gymnasium. Tears welled up in his eyes once more. The tears of a young man afraid of death. Tears of sorrow for all the life ahead of him that he no longer had. Tears for the pretty pink-haired girl who he would no longer be able to see. Tears for his childhood friend who had probably already died while he hung over him, helpless and weak.

There was nothing more he could do besides accept his fate. His heartbeat began to slow.

His vision blurred again, though whether it was from the tears or because he was losing consciousness he was not really sure anymore. He could have sworn he was hearing his name being called out. There was someone out there. Someone had come. But who? He couldn't tell. And he didn't care anymore. The voice was fading away, so very far away, and the darkness that was washing over him was oh so comforting.

-**xxxxxx**-

He gasped, taking in a big lungful of air like a man who had been underwater for far too long. He sucked it in, through his mouth and his nose, unable to get enough of the precious invisible substance.

For a moment he considered the possibility that he was dead. It sure felt like he had slipped under for good there. But then he could feel his head still aching and pounding, his heart still beating furiously in his chest. Every one of his limbs tingled and felt stiff. His wrists and his ankles felt tender.

It dawned on him that gravity was no longer pulling him the wrong while he slowly regained his senses. Once the world stopped spinning he carefully opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the rafters of the gym. The very same rafters he had been hanging from only moments before, or at least he thought he did. Was that whole thing a dream? Had he been on the ground this whole time?

Cool to the touch, the hardwood floor spread out all around him as he rolled over onto his belly, his strength trickling back to him. He pushed himself up to his knees and checked his surroundings.

No one was around. Not even Saito.

He did a double take at that. Saito was not in the middle of the court anymore, although it was evident that there had been someone there because of the outline of his body in the swathe of dried blood he left behind.

He shook his head, unable to comprehend what was going on. Where was Saito? Where was the scary dark-haired woman?

Feeling strong enough, he shakily pushed himself to his feet and put his arms out for balance. His legs continued to tingle but he managed to take a few steps towards the middle of the court, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him and he simply could not see the body. But no, the body was really gone.

"Don't worry about him," said a feminine voice that he now despised.

He visibly tensed, his hands balling into tight fists as he looked around. He tried to speak but only ended up coughing uncontrollably for a time, eliciting a light bout of laughter from his tormenter.

"What... What have you... done... to my friend?" he managed to say, composing himself.

"I said," she replied, "Don't worry about him."

He whirled around in a circle, trying to locate her.

"Up here," said the voice.

Glancing up, he noted a shadow moving between the rafters. It was quick and light on its feet, moving around with grace. Then it leapt and began to fall, crashing down hard onto the hardwood floor, causing it to buckle into a small crater as the sound of wood cracking and snapping as well as the thud of her landing echoed throughout the empty expanse of the gym.

She stood to her full height, raven-black hair framing a pale face with intense red eyes that stared at him hungrily. Her lips were twisted into a smirk as she noted his surprise at her sudden entrance.

"You almost died up there," she told him nonchalantly, "But I got back just in time."

Bewildered, he could not help but ask, "You... You saved me?"

She laughed again. "Of course. You're not allowed to die until I say so."

That statement sent a chill down Tsukune's spine, but he held his ground, fists still clenched.

"What have you done to Saito? Where is he?"

She shook her head. "I'm not going to say this again, Tsukune. Don't worry about your little friend." She paused and then added, "Although I do admit his blood was rather tasty."

"You monster," Tsukune spat. "You're going to-"

"Pay? Ha!" She walked in a circle around him, far enough out of his reach that even if he jumped towards her he could not reach her, but close enough that he could hear and see her clearly.

He grit his teeth. He still felt weak and tired, but he would not give her the satisfaction of seeing him go down without putting up some sort of fight, futile it may be.

"Who are you? And why are you doing this to us?" He asked since she seemed to be in a talking mood.

"Oh my, how rude of me," responded the young woman, putting a hand up to her mouth as if embarrassed, "We've spent all this time together and I forgot to introduce myself. Well, my name is Akua. Akua Shuzen. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She let out a giggle at that last bit.

Tsukune was sure he didn't hear her correctly. Did she really just say her name was Shuzen? No, it couldn't be. "Shuzen?" he repeated, disbelieving.

Her head cocked to one side. "You recognize the name?"

"Moka..." he whispered.

She seemed genuinely surprised at that. "You're smarter than you look, Tsukune. I guess you figured out my sister's real last name."

"Your _sister_?"

She ignored his question. "As to why I'm doing this... well, you mean _besides_ the fact that this has been _so_ much fun?"

"Monster..." he repeated through gritted teeth, glaring at her. Images of what she did to Saito flashed through his mind. Those were things she considered to be fun, and it sickened him.

"And right you are, Tsukune! You are so very right, because you see... I _am _a monster," she admitted, finally stepping in closer and her red eyes widening at the same time as her smile deepened. "I'm a vampire, to be exact. One of the most powerful vampires alive, if I may say so myself." She leaned her head back a little so that the light shone clearly on her teeth, displaying her sharper than usual canines proudly.

That came as a surprise, the admission unconsciously making him take a step back. "A.. A vampire? But..."

"Vampires aren't real, yada yada... yes, we're very real. And the _only _reason I'm even telling you is because, well... you won't be alive for much longer."

The threat didn't even phase Tsukune anymore. "Why haven't you done it already? Go ahead and kill me then!" he yelled defiantly.

Her expression changed to one of thoughtfulness. "Well, you see, that's the thing. I haven't decided yet if I really do want to kill you... or if I want to turn you. And then maybe unleash you on all your friends. Doesn't that sound much more _exciting_? We can both feast upon the people you care about the most!"

Again, Tsukune took an involuntary step back as yet another shiver went down his spine. His hands were shaking as the fear became very real to him, his mind imagining the horror of killing his own friends and family. He would most assuredly rather die than let that happen.

She stopped just out of arm's reach in front of Tsukune, and he bravely held her gaze, not wanting to look away both because he wanted to and because her eyes were once again seemingly drawing him in.

She spoke again to break the silence, "Let's change it up a little. Let's make it even more interesting." She raised her arms out to her the sides, stopping at shoulder level. "I'll give you one shot, Tsukune Aono. One blow right here, right now. Go ahead, I won't defend myself. Hurt me, and you go free. If you don't..." She trailed off.

Tsukune didn't know whether this was a trick or not, and even if it was real he wasn't sure if he would be capable of even causing harm to her. He took a tentative step forward after a few seconds of thinking about it.

"That's it," she smiled, her tone relaying her anticipation.

Tsukune was within striking distance now. He could punch her. Kick her. Elbow her. What was he to do?

"One free hit, Tsukune Aono. I hope you can hit hard enough to hurt me. Come on, I won't move. I won't defend myself," she repeated, egging him on.

"Good," said a voice off to the side, catching them both by surprise and causing them both to turn towards the voice.

**BANG.**

**BANG. BANG.**

Three shots. The sounds of their firing echoing heavily across the gymnasium.

The shots hit Akua before she had fully turned around. Each shot impacting like a sledgehammer, throwing her backwards as the bullets hit her in the chest in a tight grouping.

Tsukune stood there, still shaking and stunned at the turn of events. He had never been so glad to see Ramsey before.

The former SAS operative was not done however, as he ran forward and quickly put two more shots into the unmoving woman.

**BANG.**

**BANG.**

He turned to Tsukune and said, "Just to make sure."

Tsukune reached his hands out as he almost lost his balance, his legs feeling weak.

Ramsey immediately moved forward, holstering his pistol and steadying the teenager. "Are you hurt?"

Tsukune shook his head and said, "I'm feeling faint, don't have much energy, but I'm fine."

Ramsey looked around and spotted all the blood in the middle of the court as well as the crater left by Akua when she dropped in from the rafters. "What in bloody hell happened to you guys?"

Tsukune motioned towards the dead woman, "She happened."

"And Saito?"

Tsukune was silent as he looked away, unable to meet Ramsey's eyes. Unable to tell him what he had seen.

"Oh." Ramsey couldn't believe it. How did it all go to hell so quickly? "Well, it's over now. You're safe."

Numbly, Tsukune nodded to indicate that he had heard, hobbling out of the gym and through the halls with Ramsey's help.

There were three police cruisers right outside as well as an ambulance, all of their lights flashing. Two more police cars barred the gate, yellow police tap already being rolled out in different places. Two policemen had their guns trained at the entrance when they came out.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

They raised their hands in the air.

"Tsukune! Ramsey!" yelled the familiar voice of Rocca, who was being treated in the back of the ambulance for his broken nose as well as a few other minor scrapes he sustained from the crash. Gently pushing the paramedic aside, he rushed over to his friends. "They're with me, officers! They're my friends."

The two policemen slowly lowered their weapons, although they made sure to keep an eye on them as they walked passed. Apparently satisfied that they were harmless, the two policemen entered the school, guns out and at the ready.

Rocca, his nose all bandaged up, was all smiles as he greeted the two. "Hey guys! I'm glad you're safe. Where's Saito?"

Tsukune initially had a small smile on his face, seeing Rocca, but that smile quickly went away as he looked down at the ground from the mere mention of Saito's name.

This time it was Ramsey who shook his head, looking solemnly at Rocca, and breaking the news to him, "He... He didn't make it."

Rocca looked stunned, the smile wiped off of his face as well. "You mean he's...?"

Both Tsukune and Ramsey nodded.

"But... how?"

A police officer came forward at that point from elsewhere and approached them, interrupting their conversation.

"Excuse me, are you misters Tsukune Aono and Ramsey Bradbury?" asked the officer.

They nodded.

"Okay, well we got an initial statement from your friend mister Rocca Higashi here. I understand that you were both inside, and that you, mister Aono, were inside this whole time?"

"Yes officer," replied Tsukune.

"That is correct. I only went inside about ten minutes ago," added Ramsey, trying to be as helpful as possible.

"Okay, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, mister Bradbury, I'd like to speak to mister Aono alone for a moment," the officer said.

"Sure thing off-" Ramsey was saying when he was interrupted by the sound of gunshots coming from inside the school.

The officer's eyes narrowed towards the front doors of the school, reaching for his radio. "What the hell is going on in there?"

His radio crackled to life. "Officer down! Officer down! There's something in he-AHHHHH..." The officer immediately radioed for backup and then drew his weapon, advancing forward with the gun out and aiming at the front doors.

Tsukune and Ramsey looked at each other with unbelieving eyes as they turned towards the front doors as well.

"You don't think..." Tsukune began to say, trailing off as more gunshots could be heard.

Ramsey shook his head. "Impossible. Bloody fucking impossible. I shot that bitch five times. There's no way!"

Rocca, slightly behind them and shaking with fear, asked, "W-What's in there?"

One of the remaining front doors to the school flew outward, torn off of its hinges and sailing through the air because something barreled through it. The door slammed into the side of the nearest police cruiser with such force that it flipped over the cruiser and bounced a few more feet before coming to a rest. The cruiser itself rocked from side-to-side, suspensions squeaking. The side of the cruiser facing the school looked like it had been rammed by a car, the driver's side window shattered and the rear left passenger window lined with cracks.

Then there was the blood. It was all over the near side of the cruiser and the door. That's when everyone noticed the bloody torso of one of the policemen that had gone inside. It had no head and no legs, only a torso and arms, and it rested about a foot away from the cruiser. On its chest, amazingly untouched by the carnage, was the officer's still-shiny badge.

The officer closest to the doors couldn't contain his disgust and bewilderment, saying with emphasis, "What the _fuck_?"

Getting over their initial shock, every officer converged around the front entrance, taking cover with guns drawn, some of them even brandishing shotguns.

Ramsey pulled Rocca and Tsukune off to the side before sprinting over to the totaled BMW and popping the trunk open. Only two things could be found in the trunk: a spare tire and a locked black suitcase. Punching in the codes to disengage the locks, he opened it up and quickly assembled a machine gun from the three distinct parts stored in the suitcase. Checking to make sure everything with the weapon was in order, he popped a magazine in, cocked it, and then took the three other magazines in the suitcase, stuffing them in his pocket.

He had a sinking feeling he was going to need every bullet.

**BOOM.**

"AHHH!"

Another door exploded outward from the school, flying through the air, hinges and all. The force that it exploded outwards with was enough to bend even the steel doorframe. This time the door-turned-projectile slammed into the officer who had been asking Tsukune and Ramsey questions, hitting him with a sickening crunch as both his arms broke in several places and throwing him back about twenty feet, rolling on the ground like a ragdoll.

A nearby officer practically begged through the radio, "Where the hell is our backup? We have officers down! I repeat, we have officers down!"

A lone figure stepped out from the school, covered in blood and looking extremely and crazily pissed off. The figure walked limped out, either unaware or uncaring about all the guns now pointed in its direction. Glowing crimson eyes looked out at the assembled force.

"STOP RIGHT THERE! Put your hands up!" yelled a brave police officer, although his words lost some weight because of the shaking in his voice as he yelled.

The figure halted its advance and looked around, appearing to assess the situation. Whether it had obeyed the order to stop or it simply chose to stop on its own at that moment, it was impossible to tell.

Ramsey lined up his sights on the target, finger already on the trigger.

"Oh no... No, no, no..." Tsukune murmured as he recognized the figure, the blood draining from his face.

Rocca whispered in horror as he too recognized the figure, "Is that... _Saito_?"

* * *

**Author's notes: **This story is receiving a lot of my creative attention at the moment, hence the barrage of chapters. I hope you continue to enjoy it.


	10. Golden

**Golden**

* * *

It was Saito. And yet at the same time it wasn't. Besides the crimson eyes and the low growling like he was some feral animal, there was a wound on his neck that Tsukune had not noticed before. From it, dark lesions spread out to cover a good portion of his body and there was even some strange growth on his back, almost like poorly-developed wings. It looked like he had some kind of fungal infection covering his skin.

His hands looked bigger, with sharp claws instead of fingers. His broken leg looked like it had healed but not been properly set, making him limp with every step. He also leaned towards the right, right arm hanging a little looser than the left, perhaps because of the damage that had been done to it earlier, again most likely healing but not set properly.

As a whole, he also looked even more muscular than Tsukune remembered and he was not sure what had happened to him to make him that way, but he knew who was responsible - and she was lying dead on the gymnasium floor.

Sirens wailed from afar as the police backup got closer. Overhead, choppers from local news crews were being chased off by a dark blue helicopter with "POLICE" written in big white letters across its tail. It had only been at most five minutes since Saito had emerged from the school, five minutes of stunned and uneasy silence save for the low growls that came from Saito.

Tsukune got up, finally getting over his initial shock at seeing his friend not only alive, but turned into some kind of terrifying monster by Akua. It was a strange sight to behold, the dozen or so police officers with their guns pointed at the changed Saito while he stood, seemingly rooted to the spot, as the two sides waged a silent standoff.

The police were unsure of what to do, too bewildered and afraid by the sight of the creature Saito had become and what he had done to their fellow officers to come closer and apprehend him because he was unlike any other criminal they had seen, while also too hesitant to shoot because he was not doing anything threatening or violent anymore.

What Tsukune did know was that he had killed police officers, and undoubtedly some of the cops there would not mind at all shooting him down and calling it a day, in revenge for those who had fallen. Not wanting to see his friend shot down like some animal, he decided to take it upon himself to try and talk Saito into surrendering, or at least trying to communicate to whatever Saito had become in the hopes that somewhere, deep down under the bloody, fungi-like, and terrifying exterior there was still his childhood best friend.

"Saito!" he yelled all of a sudden, walking towards his childhood friend a little shakily at first, causing the monstrous version of him to turn to him.

"Tsukune! W-What the heck do you think you're doing?" Rocca hissed, still sitting on the ground, too afraid and stunned to move but getting over his stunned expression enough to at least speak.

"Saito!" Tsukune continued to get closer, ignoring Rocca and stopping only when, as he was walking by Ramsey, the British man grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you out of your mind? Look at him, Tsukune! He's some kind of monster now," he said, machine gun trained on the changed Saito. "He's not Saito anymore."

Tsukune shrugged off his hand, "No, Ramsey, he has to be somewhere in there. I can't just... write him off. I can't accept that he's gone without trying to save him from... well, whatever he's become." He kept walking.

"Fuck!" Ramsey muttered as he made sure to keep the thing down in his sights, although Tsukune was too close to his line of fear for comfort. If something were to happen, he would not hesitate to empty the full magazine in to that thing, and he only hoped that Tsukune would get out of the way before he pulled the trigger else a stray bullet happen to hit him. Not that he didn't trust his aim, but accidents did happen even to the most well-trained of soldiers.

Tires screeched as more police cars arrived, coming to a stop at the gate, a half dozen more officers moving around to position themselves for a firefight around the gates if necessary, their guns drawn. The officers who had been there first seemed relieved to see their backup.

Tsukune continued to get closer to Saito and several officers tried to yell at him to get back, but he ignored them too.

-**xxxxxx**-

Two beeps from the intercom on the desk echoed throughout the massive office, interrupting the conversation of the three people present.

"What is it? I said I was not to be disturbed," said the woman with light blonde hair who sat behind a large, modern-style desk of expensive dark wood and glass, her tone even but with an edge of irritation as she pressed on the intercom to activate it.

"Sorry Madame, urgent call from Wacher Alpha-Two. I have it on line 1," replied her assistant apologetically but steadily.

The woman sitting behind the desk pursed her lips, glancing at the phone with the blinking light, indicating a call was waiting, before returning her gaze to her guest. Her assistant was smart, able, and trusted, so if she interrupted an important meeting and said that this was urgent then it really must be.

"My apologies, Lord Cherkath. I'm afraid our meeting must be cut short," she said, standing to signal him to leave.

The vampire lord followed suit and got to his feet, bowing his head though his eyes showed a slight irritation, "Of course, Lady Shuzen." Turning, he walked the long way to the door back straight and chin high, and let himself out of the office quietly.

Once he was gone, the woman glanced to her remaining companion who was off to the side before picking up the phone and activating the waiting line with a touch of a finger.

"Report," she said sternly, promising pain if the news her spy brought was not as important as indicated.

"Sorry for interrupting, Lady Shuzen, but it is Miss Akua. She has... gone too far," came the gruff voice at the other end. He proceeded to explain the situation to her, and as he explained her grip tightened on the phone. This was pretty serious.

"Very well. I shall send someone along to collect her." With that she hung up, turning to the remaining other person in the room.

She stood, dressed in a white dress with matching white gloves and boots, off to the side by the large floor-to-ceiling windows, silently admiring the spectacular view from atop one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. Her light blonde hair falling in waves around her head to her shoulders, bangs framing her face and a tiara sparkling where it caught the sunlight.

By all accounts, the other woman was a spitting image of her, albeit her hair was much longer and her skin not as tanned. From their looks and youthfulness, they could undoubtedly pass as sisters.

"Kahlua," the woman by the desk called to the white-clad woman, causing her to turn away from her view and smile. "I need you to get your sister. Immediately."

"Yes mother."

-**xxxxxx**-

Tsukune came to a rest about ten feet away from Saito, stopping mostly because his changed friend started growling and crouching low as if rearing to strike when he got about that close. Not wanting to test him and die like the earlier officers, he thought it wise to halt his advance. He noticed now that he was close enough that Saito was breathing heavily, almost like every drawn breath was a labor.

Up close, the red eyes looked conflicted instead of simply frightening and angry. Tsukune could have been wrong, but there was even a hint of fear in there that he could see. Or at least he thought it was fear. Was that Saito in there?

"Hey Saito," said Tsukune loud enough to be heard but soft enough not to sound challenging or threatening. He was suddenly unsure of what to say. He hadn't really thought this through beyond getting close enough to be seen and to talk. "Uhhh, heh, well... look, I know that... I know that you must be in there, buddy. I know that you didn't mean to hurt anyone. That this was all just... a big accident. A mistake. You're not a monster, Saito."

Saito bared his teeth and growled, showing elongated, sharper canines than normal. His whole body, Tsukune realized, was shaking, but not from exhaustion. More like there was a contest of wills going on inside his head and the body was unsure of what to do, wanting to move and yet being told not to. The fact that he had not tried to hurt anyone else out here seemed to support that theory.

"We can fix it, Saito. We can help you. Just..." he took a tentative step forward, and then another. "Just stay calm and don't do anything... rash."

Saito didn't growl again, though his body was more visibly shaking now, muscles straining against each other. His claws curled in, like he was balling his fists, and Tsukun eyed them warily.

By the gates, another police car arrived and the precinct captain stepped out of his cruiser, grabbing a rifle from the trunk. He walked towards the nearest officer. "What the hell is going on? Why haven't we taken that thing down yet?" he asked incredulously.

The officer pointed to Tsukune, "That kid is trying to talk to the thing, sir. I think he's trying to get him to go quietly."

"The hell he is!" exclaimed the captain, "That thing took out three of our fellow officers, dammit! _Shoot it down_!"

"But, sir, what about the kid?" said the officer, hesitant to fire while there was a civilian so close to the target.

The captain shook his head, raising his rifle. "There's this thing called _aimin_g," he replied angrily, aiming and squeezing the trigger a second later as the officers around him readied to fire as well.

**BANG**.

Tsukune instinctively ducked as he heard the crack of the gunshot, getting low to the ground and then looking up in horror as Saito growled in pain. The bullet had hit him straight in the chin, shattering the jawbone and exiting out through the back of the neck, blood spewing from both entry and exit wounds. He staggered back two steps from the impact but stayed on his feet.

Nobody moved, stunned both because of the sudden shot and the fact that the target was still standing after taking a bullet straight to the face.

Then, within a second or two, the wound rapidly healed itself. It was as if nothing had happened. Except something did change in Saito's demeanor, and Tsukune was suddenly very afraid as Saito let out a savage roar as he bared his teeth and clicked his claws together as if ready to eviscerate everyone. Gone were his crimson pupils, his eyes completely and terrifyingly white instead. Now he seemed truly like a monster possessed.

"Saito! Don-" Tsukune was saying but Saito lunged forward and backhanded him, the blow hitting him with such force that it sent him flying into the side of the school, causing a cracks to appear in the cement. He hit the wall with a loud smack, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap as pain exploded all over his body. Surprisingly he stayed conscious, albeit painfully so.

Ramsey wanted to check on Tsukune but did not want to waste this opportunity. Now that Tsukune was out of the way, he pulled on the trigger just as the police captain yelled, "OPEN FIRE!" Immediately, there was an orchestra of gunfire as bullets rained on the angry Saito.

A few of the initial shots managed to hit Saito, but he was quickly on the move as he barreled into the nearest police cruiser with his shoulder, tossing it back and making it roll over fom the force of the impact, crushing the officers that had been using it as cover. He moved with astonishing speed, even with his limp, and his claws tore through several more officers who were unlucky enough to be within reach, their dying cries making the rest of the police to fire with increased urgency to try and take him down.

Officers in the chopper overhead began firing their machine guns down on Saito, causing him to grab the nearest cruiser, claws sinking surprisingly easily into the metal. With almost no effort, he flung the cruiser into the air, managing to catch the helicopter as it slowed to allow the shooters sitting on the edge of either side to aim. The ground vehicles collided with its aerial counterpart, exploding in a giant ball of fame and their fiery remains hurtling down into the street just outside the school with a tremendous crash.

The captain was firing his pistol, having run out of ammo for his rifle, when the explosion knocked him off of his feet. Unfortunately for him, at that moment Saito chose to lunge close to him. The captain yelled in fear and pain as giant claws wrapped around him, slicing deeply into his skin. Then Saito beared his teeth and bit into the man's neck hungrily, fresh blood spilling all over as gunshots continued to impact his torso with little effect.

Every hit healed almost as quickly as they appeared, and even the heavy booming shotguns did little but momentarily push Saito around. The remaining officers watched in horror as their captain was made a meal, unable to do anything but continue shooting with a quarter of the gathered force already dead or dying. Someone called for more backup.

Ramsey realized that shooting the torso was pointless and thinking quickly, taking the time to aim properly while Saito was standing still with his prey, he aimed for the thing's knees, letting loose with a short burst of bullets.

It let go of the captain and howled in pain, much to Ramsey's delight, falling to the ground as its knee exploded in a shower of blood and bone. The remaining police officers continued to open fire, but they mostly targeted the torso and that did little to slow it down as it struggled to get on its feet, knee beginning to repair itself. A few shots managed to hit Saito in the head, and that also served to incapacitate him for a few seconds before those hits frustratingly healed as well.

Tsukune struggled to move. It had happened so fast that he felt that he hit the wall about the same time that Saito had smacked him. Everything hurt. To him, everything felt broken. Hot liquid soaked the back of his head, accompanying the sting of an open wound where he had hit the wall hard with his head. He found himself asking for the second time that day why he was so weak, too weak to be of any use to anyone, though he was happy to be conscious and happier still to be alive.

Footsteps crunched nearby, barely audible over all the gunfire. "Tsukune! You o-okay man?" the familiar and concerned voice of Rocca asked, his friend kneeling beside him. He was clearly very frightened and completely out of his element, getting the courage to move only when he saw him get thrown into the wall. Then again he could not be blamed since it was not every day that a teenager faced monsters and gunfights.

All Tsukune could do was cough as he tried to respond and get up, clutching at his chest. There was pain with every breath he took, and he could have sworn he heard himself wheezing, but the adrenaline that was rushing into his veins was helping to dampen the pain and it was slowly ebbing away.

"I... hard to... breathe.." he replied finally, coughing.

"Easy now," Rocca said as he helped Tsukune gingerly get to his knees and then to his feet, gunfire continuing to erupt across the front of the school like a warzone.

Ramsey couldn't believe his eyes as the thing stood up again, roaring defiantly as he thinned the ranks of the police further. Half of them were dead already. He looked to the street and saw black vans with police lights flashing pull up, men clad in all black jumping out of the backs of the vans. On the sides of those vans were the letters 'SAT' in white, and the sight of them made him feel a little bit better.

It was about time the Special Assault Teams showed up; they were the Japanese equivalent of SWAT teams, responding to situations that the normal police couldn't handle, and they were often used for counter-terrorism operations. The SAT operatives were decked out in black combat armor complete with matching black kevlar helmets. They came packing with assault rifles, shotguns, grenades, and other heavier military equipment that the normal police didn't have access to.

Looking over his shoulder to where Tsukune had been thrown to, he noticed that the teen in question was thankfully on his feet, although clearly in pain. Ramsey ran over, taking out the empty clip from his machine gun and replacing it with another one as he arrived next to the teens.

"I'm on my last magazine, and that bloody thing is still moving after all the fucking lead we pumped into it," he said bitterly, "We're going to have to get to a safe place and let the authorities handle this now." He couldn't help but think that they should've left the place when they had the chance before that thing came out of the school.

Rocca looked around at the carnage, shaking his head, "I don't think the authorities c-can handle this!"

Ramsey grunted. "It doesn't matter. Either way, we need to get out of here."

No sooner had he said that, the SAT teams opened fire after settling into their positions along the fence and around the gate. The sounds of automatic weapons rang through the air, accompanied by loud roars of pain and anger from their target.

-**xxxxxx**-

Akua watched the carnage unfold with a giddy smile. Tsukune's gun-wielding friend had caught her by surprise earlier, hitting her while in her human form when she was at her weakest. When she woke up, livid as hell, she knew the perfect way to retaliate for being shot like that.

Turning Saito into a ghoul had always been her plan, since she was hoping to keep him as a pet and trophy for her success at making sure Moka and Tsukune were never going to get back together. But in her anger after recovering from the close-quarters gunshots, she unleashed him. Now her pet ghoul carpeted the front grounds of the school with blood.

While she felt she may have gone too far, she could not help but be entertained with the violent show she was seeing. Humans were so weak. The Saito ghoul wasn't even that strong of a ghoul, and yet they were hard-pressed to fight it.

She noted however that since the new arrivals of the SAT her new pet ghoul's Yoki energy was getting much too low and frowned at that. The ghoul was burning up a lot of energy recovering from the dozens and dozens of gunshot wounds it was sustaining every second from the SAT squads and their machine guns and shotguns.

Saving the ghoul was out of the question; he was expendable. Off to the side, trying to move around the edges of the firefight, she noticed that Tsukune and his friends were still alive. Smiling, she decided it was time to finally finish what she had started. She emerged from her hiding place on the roof and jumped into the air, the full extent of her vampire powers exploded outward in a wave of Yoki energy as she released her true form.

-**xxxxxx**-

Without warning, the sky darkened considerably as if a great shadow had fallen over the area even though the skies were clear and the sun still above the horizon, though begging to dip already The gunfire stopped as the soldiers paused, fear gripping tightly as they looked up at the sky and noted the unnatural shadow all around that seemed to taint the very air. They felt a strange presence as well, an aura of darkness that shook them to their core, making them feel like children before the bogey man.

Tsukune, Rocca, and Ramsey felt it too, a chill creeping down their spines.

"He did a decent job," said an all-too-familiar voice from somewhere behind them, one that Tsukune and Ramsey did not expect to hear anymore. Her remark came off so casually it was like someone commenting on the performance of a player in a sports game, instead of the chaos and carnage brought about by an enraged monster. "He fought against the change, I saw that you noticed that, Tsukune. But unfortunately, he was not strong enough to resist it in the end..."

Ramsey, upon hearing the voice, immediately tracked it by concentrating on his hearing, and then whirled around, opening fire. She was not there however, and he instantly felt a presence next to him, making him gulp.

"Nice try, but you won't have the pleasure of shooting me twice. Not that your bullets would have any effect on me now," she whispered, her hot breath tickling his ear.

He pushed against her with his shoulder and rammed the butt of his gun into her face, or at least he tried to. She ducked, grabbed his arm in a crushing grip forceful enough to make him instantly drop his gun, moved around a little, and then using her free hand she punched into his forcefully extended arm. There was a sickening crunch as the arm bent forward, followed by Ramsey's cry of pain at his right arm being broken.

"And just in case you get any ideas," she added while moving to break his other arm. Again the crunch, and again the cry of pain. Tears streamed down Ramseys face and he looked to be in agony. He fell to his knees, going into shock from his grave injuries, his breaths quick and panicked.

Rocca had fallen to the ground, shake and in terror, his pants wet because he had pissed himself.

"Should I, or should I not break your legs too? Decisions, decisions..." she asked Ramsey's kneeling figure aloud in an amused tone.

"STOP IT!" yelled Tsukune, his chest hurting but he didn't care anymore. He wanted to put an end to it all. "Just stop."

Akua smirked at him, red eyes bright and eager. "Oh? But I've only started!" She pointed a pale finger at the cowering Rocca by his feet. "I was going to move on to your other friend next."

"I'm the one you want to hurt, right? Stop hurting them and hurt me instead. Please," Tsukune pleaded, trying desperately to spare his friends.

A loud roar echoed around, coming from Saito, followed by the resumption of heavy gunfire.

The vampire pushed Ramsey to the side, the man falling hard and with a grunt of pain as he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily and pretty much incapacitated. She closed the gap between her and Tsukune with two steps of her long, slender legs.

"Hmmm..." she mockingly pretended to consider his words, "How about, no?" With that she lifted a leg and her boot stomped down on Rocca's leg, crushing his right shin bone and calf under her boots with a sickening crunch. Blood and flesh burst through the skin.

Rocca cried out in pure agony, his cry so strong and full of pain that Tsukune flinched more from hearing it than he did from hearing and seeing the crushing of the actual leg.

Ramsey saw what she did to Rocca and yelled, "Rocca! Oh you fucking bitch! Fuck! I bloody fucking killed you, I'll kill you again. I'll fucking kill you again!" He tried to get to his feet, but only succeeded in rolling onto his side, painfully.

Akua laughed, turning to face the man who was lying on his back with two broken arms. "Tell me, mister foreigner... mister tough guy... how are you going to kill me, when you're already dead?" She didn't even give him a chance to respond as she slammed her fist into his face. Blood splattered everywhere as her lethal punch caved in half of Ramsey's face.

At that point, Rocca passed out and fell backwards, what he had just seen and what had happened to his leg too much for him to handle.

"NOOOOO!" Tsukune yelled, tears in his eyes, witnessing Ramsey's death up close as well as the attack on his defenseless friend and not being able to do anything about it pushing him over the edge. His legs buckled but he remained standing through sheer force of will.

Akua retracted her fist, licking the blood, and smiled as she straightened herself. She faced the enraged Tsukune, with his fists clenched, body tense, face scrunched up in anger and eyes closed.

She repeated her earlier offer to him before they were rudely interrupted by the man she had just killed, raising her arms to either side with palms facing Tsukune.

"One shot, Tsukune Aono. I offer it to you again. One chance to hit me, wherever you want." Her red eyes watched him carefully, noting that there was something different about him now. A change that happened in the span of only the last few seconds. Something she could not quite identify, not that it changed her tone. He was still a weak human after all, and no matter his anger he could not possibly hurt her.

"So, what's it going to be, Tsukune? Do I have to kill your other friend too in order to motivate you?"

This time it was Tsukune's turn to smirk, which came as a surprise to Akua who hesitated for a microsecond, her eyes narrowing. The smirk came when he felt a strange power surge through him, giving him a strength and calm that he had never known before. Welcoming it. Embracing it. Channeling it. He allowed it to fill him from the tips of his toes to even the ends of his hair. Coursing through him, the energy was a hurricane of power brewing. And, for whatever reason, he knew that thanks to this strange power he was no longer the helpless teen that he was only moments ago. His right fist tightened anxiously.

"Well. Tsukune? Are you going to hit me or-" Akua didn't finish as Tsukune, in the blink of an eye, stepped forward and slammed his fist into her chest with such ferocity that she was sent hurtling backwards. Her body tore through the high fence and ended up crashing into a thicket of trees in the park across the street, making three particularly thick ones fall with heavy groans and thuds when she broke their trunks hitting them.

Tsukune still had his right fist extended through the space Akua had previously occupied, right leg forward and left leg facing to the side as he had used it to pivot, his left hand tensed ready to deliver another blow though he did not need it. He opened his eyes, each one glowing with a golden light. In fact, his entire body now seemed to be aglow. The energy kept surging through him, not stopping and he actually felt overwhelmed for a moment to the point that it finally burst forth, sending out a shockwave of golden and white energy as he yelled towards the sky at its release.

-**xxxxxx**-

Tetsuo Aono looked to his wife, who had stopped midway through cutting up vegetables for dinner and was staring at her husband with a stunned expression.

"Did you...? he asked, hesitantly, hoping that he had simply imagined it.

She slowly nodded.

Tetsuo stood abruptly, the chair he was sitting on tipping back and falling from the sudden movement.

-**xxxxxx**-

Akua got to her feet slower than she would have liked to admit, furious at herself for apparently not being able to handle a punch from Tsukune, a lowly human. Absently rubbing her chest where she had been hit, the broken bones had already repaired themselves. That punch was beyond anything she expected Tsukune to be capable of.

Her mind was trying to comprehend what had just happened. How on earth did a weakling like him manage to throw a punch like that? There had to be some kind of trick, or was this something that Tsukune had been successfully hiding all this time? Was he actually a monster too?

She eventually came to the conclusion that he must be a monster, one that could mask his Yoki energy perfectly so as to be undetectable, allowing him to pass as a human. Otherwise she should have been able to detect his Yoki energy. There was no other possible explanation that she could think of.

Gritting her teeth, her own fists tightening in rage, her red eyes glowed brightly. Now that she knew he had some power, she had no reason to hold back any longer. She was going to tear his limbs off one by one, with the head last, though not before toying with him a little. Liking the thought, she moved to return to the school when someone appeared in front of her, blocking her path.

Her eyes went wide. "Kahlua..?"

Her younger step-sister by only a few years, Kahlua stood in her usual elegant white dress, with matching snow white gloves and boots. Her skin was tanned, unlike the pale skin that the rest of the Shuzen clan had, a trait that she got from her mother Gyokuro Shuzen. And the white dress accentuated that tan. Her light blonde hair, wavy and going past her shoulders, was held in place by a tiara, although she allowed for some bangs over her forehead. She was beautiful, as all the Shuzen children were.

"Hi, Akua!" greeted Kahlua with a big smile, genuinely happy to see her.

Akua had an inkling as to why she was there, but asked anyway, "Kahlua. Why are you here?"

"Mother has asked me to put an end whatever this is and to come get you. You've gone too far this time, she says," came the honest reply, conveyed in a light and happy tone as if the message wasn't serious at all, even though it was.

"Okay, I'll come with you. But I need to take care of something really quickly first." Akua tried moving around Kahlua, only to have the blonde grab her arm with a firm grip.

Kahlua's red eyes stared unflinchingly into her own. "No, Akua. You must come with me now. Mother's orders."

-**xxxxxx**-

The strange shadow covering the area lifted and Tsukune found himself still glowing, although not as brightly as earlier when he had yelled at the sky at the release of the pent up energy. He was breathing easy, he noticed, the pain in his chest having gone away. He attributed it to the energy that had surged through him, that _still_ surged through him.

His eyes flicked down at Ramsey's corpse, his heart and stomach lurching at the grisly sight before he turned to look at Rocca, passed out on the ground with his flattened lower right leg looking absolutely horrible. Blood was still spurting out from the traumatic wound as bits of flesh and muscle were spread out around the leg.

"Freeze!" yelled several SAT operatives at the same time, heavy boots thudding against the ground, machine guns pointed at him menacingly. Their barrels were still smoking from all the rounds they had fired at Saito, who was eventually taken down when his regenerative capabilities failed thanks to his depleted Yoki.

Tsukune held his hands high, gulping and realizing that they were considering him a threat because of the fact that he was glowing. He was thankful that whatever energy that he somehow managed to call forth hadn't transformed him into some beast, otherwise he was sure they would have fired first and asked questions later.

"Don't move, or we _will _shoot you," warned another SAT squad member. That same SAT operative talked into a microphone built into his helmet, saying, "We've got a potential suspect, sir. A teenage boy. What do you want me to do with him?" He nodded, obviously hearing the response through speakers in his helmet although Tsukune couldn't hear anything other than his side of the conversation. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir. I'll bring him in personally."

"Alright, cuff him. We're bringing him to Central," said one of the operatives, gun still trained on him with trigger finger at the ready. They really weren't taking any chances.

Sirens wailed loudly as more emergency response personnel started to arrive, given clearance to enter the crime scene. A lot more ambulances than anything else.

Right before one of the SAT members approached with handcuffs, Tsukune tensed as he sensed something coming with great speed. He suddenly disappeared in a rush of wind, much to the bewilderment of the SAT squad that had surrounded him.

"Fuck! Where the hell did he go?" one of them said in dismay, each one scanning the area and gripping their guns tightly.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Things are getting a lot more interesting, I'd say. I hope you know that you're in for a ride. :)

FYI: Tsukune will be strong, but he won't be invincible.


	11. Holy Heritage

**Holy Heritage**

* * *

The wind rushed coolly across his face and Tsukune found himself both confused and awed at what was happening. One second he was standing in front of the Special Assault Team soldiers, about to be taken in. The next he was flying over the school and then across the city. He could feel someone's or something's hold on the collar of his shirt, but he could not figure out who it was and was unable to turn around enough to identify the thing that held him. Then, just as suddenly as he had seemingly been taken, the world came to a halt and he found himself atop a nearby mountain. A sudden gust of wind ruffled his torn up clothes and kicked up a little of the dirt around him.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Tsukune finally looked around and spotted his abductor.

"Dad?" he said in complete disbelief. What the hell? As if this day couldn't get any worse, the world had to surprise him with his father _flying_. His mind began to spin and he held out his hands a little to steady himself. This had to be a dream. He must have passed out back at the school.

"Tsukune," greeted his father with a slight inclination of his head. Well, he sounded like his father.

He looked completely different than Tsukune remembered ever seeing him before. Tetsuo Aono stood a little taller and seemed a little younger, carrying himself with a greater strength that Tsukune had never seen prior to that moment. A simple robe of white and gold stretched down to his knees, and over it was a set of silver armor complete with a cuirass, faulds, greaves, and gauntlets, all with strange markings and designs. His eyes shone with power as he looked at his son, the concern on his features clear.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere?" asked the elder Aono.

Tsukune got out of his shock at seeing his father and replied slowly and angrily. "Am I okay? Am I _okay_? One of my best friends turned into some kind of monster, slaughtered half the local police force, and is now dead. My other best friend will probably lose a leg, if he's still alive. Another good friend got his... got his head stomped. And there's a vampire who's trying to kill me. So no. I am _not_ okay." The memories of their deaths flashed freshly in his mind and his eyes shut tight attempting to get the images out of his head. His breaths were long and deliberate as he tried to calm himself.

"I'm sorry, son." The words were said with heavy sorrow.

"What...?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Tsukune was shaking his head, his eyes still closed, and he found himself unable to articulate what he wanted to say. His mind was a whirlwind of shock and confusion. What in the world was going on? How was this all real?

Tetsuo tucked his hands behind him, his gaze not once leaving his son. "We've kept some big secrets from you, son," he began, "Secrets that we thought would never come to light. What happened at the school today, what you saw... and what you did. That was all part of a world, a life, that your mother and I thought we had left behind."

Tsukune shifted uneasily on his feet. "I don't... I don't understand..."

A heavy sigh escaped his father's lips. "From what I briefly saw as I took you away from the school, you unfortunately encountered what is called a ghoul. I know this is difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to accept, but you saw it with your own two eyes. A ghoul is a type of monster, and yes, monsters do exist in this world. Some of them live among us, but most monsters tend to stay in their respective realms because of the treaty. And there are all manner of monsters, many of which you know from myths and fairy tales. Ghouls, werewolves, vampires, trolls, goblins... they are all very much real."

Well, Tsukune could not deny that. Not after what he had seen in only the last few hours. Not after what he had been through. The new information his father was giving him he wanted to know more about though, so he asked, "Realms? Treaty?"

"Realms are alternate pockets of reality that exist beyond the world that we know. They are formed and kept separate by powerful magic, and magic is essentially a controlled manipulation of energy. These realms were created by the monsters for monsters, and it is a part of the treaty that they agreed to to keep the peace here on earth, our shared world."

"Saito... was he a ghoul this whole time?"

"No, Tsukune. As far as we know, ghouls are a strain of vampire. When a vampire bites someone, they can either suck on their blood or inject their own blood into the victim. If they choose to inject their blood, this effectively serves to turn their prey into one of two things: a vampire, or a ghoul. Although there is also a chance that the body completely rejects the blood and the victim then dies. While a vampire may retain their conscious thoughts, a ghoul is lost completely to violent madness. All cases of ghouls have thus far shown this to be true," explained his father.

"So that's why... but he recognized me initially! How could he recognize me if he was completely mad?" Tsukune looked to his dad in confusion.

"He was recently turned, and like most people who are turned he fought against the darkness that tried to take over his mind. Unfortunately, almost everyone succumbs to it. Your friend was no exception."

There was a long silence as Tsukune thought of his late friend, realizing that he had been trying to cling to his humanity, and his sanity, before he went berserk. Saito had been bravely fighting to maintain control, but ultimately lost himself.

"Am I like you then?" he finally spoke again. "I felt this strange power surge through me. It was... different. And yet familiar. And I somehow managed to punch a vampire and send her flying."

Tetsuo suddenly look even more worried. "Yes. You have my blood in you and so you are like me. But hold on, there was a vampire there?" At Tsukune's nod, he started mumbling to himself worriedly, "This is troubling news. Very troubling... A vampire and a ghoul out in broad daylight, killing humans... maybe... well, no... no, it's just an isolated incident, I'm sure... but that means..."

"That means what, dad?"

"There will be others of our kind here soon. They will want to investigate for themselves what happened," replied Tetsuo.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

His father's mouth twisted into a frown. "It most likely is both."

Another moment of silence ensued.

Tsukune then asked, "So are we... _monsters_?" He glanced down at his hands with growing concern, turning them over and back slowly, as if they might sprout claws and scales all of a sudden.

"No, Tsukune. We are not like the vile creatures you faced at school. We are not monsters."

"Then what does that make us?" asked Tsukune, relieved that he wasn't a 'monster' but still wondering what exactly he was now.

"We're... different. Some of our kind would have us believe that we are simply a higher form of humanity, though the vampires most certainly dispute that claim," his father replied wryly. "Others would say we are a different species come from a different world altogether."

"Dad. What. Are. We? Stop avoiding the question... I... I need to know."

His father let out a heavy sigh. "Before I tell you, I want you to know that putting a label on something does not necessarily define what it is. Remember that, and remember it well, son." Tetsuo's eyes flashed briefly and suddenly white and gold streams of light escaped from his back and in a bright rush they formed into glowing wings far bigger than the man that bore them. They flared out, extending fully. Each wing looked to be at least seven feet long and were covered with what looked like feathers, but they seemed unreal because they glowed softly with an ethereal light, like they were wings of energy instead of actual, physical wings.

Tsukune could not help but feel awed at the sight, and again so many questions popped up in his head, but before he could ask them his father spoke further.

"Humans," his father said, "They would call us angels."

-**xxxxxx**-

Moka's hands shook as she read the message a second time through eyes blurred by warm tears. She kept telling herself that this was not real, that this was not happening. The one true friend she had finally made, the one she felt this special connection with, no longer wanted to see her. She couldn't understand why he was saying such things. How could he be so cruel to her? How could he not even let her explain what happened and why? He must have read the letter she left him, but apparently it was not enough.

**_Moka, I never want to see you again. Don't bother trying to get in touch with me. I've moved on._**

The phone suddenly slipped through her fingers, her grip weakening, and it fell to the hard stone floor with a loud clatter. A few pieces of the plastic case broke off from the impact, but she barely noticed.

Sobs racked her body as she suddenly felt weak and collapsed to her knees, head hanging down towards her chest. Tears escaped freely from her eyes and her entire body started to feel numb. She could not imagine Tsukune ever saying that to her and being so mean, so cold, and yet the text message she received was proof enough. It was real. She wanted to call him, but he had said not to bother trying to get a hold of him. She couldn't even try to explain, try to reason with him, and she had never thought she would feel so lost again.

All those years spent shunned and alone out in the human world ran through her mind. Tsukune's friendliness and kindness towards her had been so surprising. He had rekindled her ability to be happy and had shown her that not all humans were the same. They were not all bad, there was some good in humans too. But now that didn't matter anymore and she felt devastated for the second time in only a few days.

_"I told you we didn't need him, and he has made it very clear that he doesn't need us either. So stop crying, stop acting so weak, and move on like that filthy human has,"_ her inner voice berated, although the tone was not as harsh as it could have been.

Outer Moka could not simply stop her feelings though, and she continued to cry for another hour. Inner Moka remained silent for the rest of the night.

Finally, numbly, she ran out of tears and moved to her bed, sobs still shaking her body every now and then. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and hugged one of her soft pillows tightly, her moist cheeks dampening the pillowcase. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, emotionally and physically exhausted from the last hour.

-**xxxxxx**-

"What the _hell _were you thinking, Akua? _Were_ you even thinking? Do you have _any _idea what you have just fucking done? What your actions will now cause?" spat a seething Gyokuro as she sat rigidly in her ornate chair, her slitted red eyes glowing furiously as they fastened themselves upon the dark-haired young woman standing in front of her desk.

Kahlua had just finished her report on what she had seen when she went to collect Akua, and the carnage she described along with the fact that the media was there to cover it all had really pissed off Gyokuro.

Akua lowered her gaze. She knew full well what the consequences for her actions would be, but she honestly couldn't care less. The damned treaty was signed more than a millenium ago, before even Issa Shuzen became a vampire. Things had changed considerably since then, and a peaceful coexistence was not something she wanted to continue. That was a viewpoint that she and Gyokuro shared, and that was why she offered to help the vampiress in the first place. Still, she held her tongue and said nothing, knowing that any words - even if they were true and honest - would only serve to further anger Gyokuro. And that was best to be avoided, even though Akua had full confidence in her abilities, picking a fight with another one of the most powerful vampires in the world was not something to be done lightly. She would be reprimanded, perhaps punished in some way, but they would all move on and all of this would eventually be forgotten.

"You have just made things more difficult for me, and even more so for you, Akua," Gyokuro continued, her voice harsh and unforgiving, "The Council will undoubtedly meet very soon to decide your fate. And those damned winged insects will have heard of what happened by now and they will come and demand their foolish _justice_. At best, you will be severely punished by the Council and it will _not _be pleasant. At worst, you will be banished from the vampire realms and given as a prisoner to Elysium."

Akua looked up at her, finally speaking with a hint of dismay in her voice, "They would not... You wouldn't..." Punishment at the hands of the Council, while most likely to be agonizing and horrible, paled in comparison to being banished and imprisoned in Elysium. Those holier, literally, than thou creatures would make sure she suffered tremendously; she would rather be punished by her own kind - better the devil you know, as they say.

"You have endangered us all, Akua! I cannot protect you from both the Council _and_ Elysium if, and when, they come for you. Not even Issa can. Anything less than cooperation would risk open war."

"But..."

"On top of that, my carefully laid plans are in danger of being completely ruined all because of your egregious lapse in judgement," Gyokuro let out a heavy breath, "No, even if I could shield you I would not. You have become too much of a liability, Akua. I cannot allow you to stay with me any more. You will be escorted before the Council immediately."

Akua took a step back, the words hitting her hard while her gut tightened. This was far worse than she had expected Gyokuro's reaction to be. Akua knew that she had gone a little overboard, but surely what Gyokuro was saying was exaggerated. The Council would not be so harsh as she said because her father would help protect her from the worst punishment. He had to! And after all that she had done for Gyokuro, how could she not protect her? How could she just kick her away? She was technically her daughter after all. They were all family!

"I'm more useful to you alive and at your side! Besides, you're attempting to take control of the world, mother. Doing that would lead to war anyway! What does it matter if it starts sooner rather than later?" Akua retorted, her own red eyes flashing. She clenched her fists, giving in to her rising anger at being discarded so easily.

Gyokuro stood abruptly, eyes narrowing. "You _were _useful to me. Before you went and publicly attacked humans in broad daylight in blatant violation of the treaty and of our own laws. And you of all people should understand how important timing is for plans to work. Now, Elysium will be more alert, more suspicious than they would have been without your idiotic stunt. My plans are in serious jeopardy now and I would punish you myself if I didn't think the Council would do a good enough job."

Behind Akua, the double doors that led into Gyokuro's office opened and she could sense six vampires approaching with haste. She immediately knew what they were there for and, thinking quickly, she snarled and showed her fangs in anger before swiftly running and jumping out through one of the large windows. The glass shattered into hundreds of pieces with a crash, a strong wind blowing into the office from the sudden exposure ti the elements, as she hurtled through the air. The vampires that had just arrived started chasing after her but stopped short at the edge of the building and simply watched as she fell.

With the wind rushing all around her, Akua looked down at the rapidly approaching street and readied herself.

-**xxxxxx**-

Her anger subsiding a fraction at the sudden action of her daughter, Gyokuro shook her head and ever so slightly smirked, gazing at the broken window that the younger vampire had leapt through. She did not expect Akua to go without a fight, and she definitely didn't expect that she would run instead of trying to kill them all. It was tough to cut her loose like this, but it had to be done. The young woman was right in her assessment of her usefulness - she was as good as Kahlua at doing what needed to be done. Except where Kahlua was restrained and obedient, Akua was wilder and far more independent-minded. As Gyokuro had observed, she was a liability, one that she simply tolerated before her recent mess up.

Issa would do everything he could to protect her, she was technically a part of the Shuzen family after all, but Gyokuro had neither the patience or the affection for her delinquent daughter to do the same. Not when there were far more important things to focus her efforts on. And not when it was hopeless to keep her from severe harm. Besides, the holy beings of Elysium most likely will be watching Akua closely from here on out, and Gyokuro could not afford the risk that the extra scrutiny might reveal her plans to the angels too soon.

The vampires who had entered were still looking out over the edge, the strong wind blowing on their pressed dark suits. One of the six vampires who entered finally turned away from the broken window and approached Gyokuro, bowing respectfully at the waist. "Lady Gyokuro, shall we pursue her?"

"No," she replied, and she saw the look of surprise cross the man's features. "You can return to your duties for now. Oh, and get someone to fix this mess." She waved her hand lazily towards the broken window.

"Right away, my Lady." The vampire bowed and then beckoned to his companions to leave.

Kahlua was quickly at her side once they were gone, gazing intently at her. "Shall _I_ chase after her, mother?" Her expression was neutral, but there was a tinge of excitement in her voice that her mother was able to discern.

Gyokuro looked towards the broken window and said, "No. I won't waste any more time or resources on that girl. We keep moving forward with the plan. The Council and Issa can worry about Akua."

-**xxxxxx**-

"You've got to be kidding," Tsukune declared, taking a seat on the ground because he couldn't keep standing, his mind spinning.

"Does this look like I'm kidding?" his father asked as he furled and unfurled his magnificent wings again.

They were silent for a time, Tetsuo allowing his son a peaceful moment to process everything.

"So is mother...?"

His father nodded. "Yes."

"Does that mean we're immortal?"

"Not quite. We live far longer than humans because we age much slower, but living in Elysium extends our lifespan even further," replied Tetsuo.

"Elysium?"

"It is the home of all angels."

"So you mean... heaven?" Tsukune felt strange saying that like it was a real place. He never really believed in all that, but now he was realizing that there were a lot of mythical things that might actually be real.

A short chuckle escaped from his father's lips. "You could call it that, but Elysium is its real name."

"This is all so... unbelievable," he said, rubbing his left forearm with his right hand. Tsukune looked up at his father. "But why? Why did you leave it behind? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Tetsuo sighed heavily. "Your mother and I left that life behind because of two reasons. First and foremost was because we wanted you to have a normal, peaceful life away from the trappings of our society. Second, we did not agree with the direction that Elysium's leaders was taking us. It is of course far more complicated than that, but I would rather not go into the specific details."

"The trappings of our society? What does that mean?"

"It's complicated..." his father gave him a pained expression, not wanting to explain further.

Tsukune looked up at the night sky, the sun having set already and the moon bright amongst the stars. "So... does that mean... that God is real?"

Tetsuo was about to reply when he suddenly looked sharply at the sky, eyes narrowing. "They are here."

Tsukune scrutinized the sky, though he didn't see or sense anyone just yet. "Who is?" he finally asked, wondering if he was missing something.

That question was answered when in a rush of wind five winged beings flew down from the sky and landed in a cloud of dirt nearby. A second later and the dirt cloud was dispersed by a strong gust. Tetsuo moved closer to Tsukune, who remained seated on the ground. He noted that his father was suddenly tense, his hands balled into fists, and Tsukune warily eyed the newcomers.

Four of the five were dressed similarly to his father - white robes with gold embroidery and silver armor. The one standing ahead of all of them, and clearly the leader, wore a complete set of white, crystal-like armor that seemed to have its own glow, and a long flowing white cape with gold embroidery. It was a woman. Her long red hair flowed down to curl upon her shoulders, with two bangs of hair spreading around her face to frame it. Silver eyes shone with energy as she looked impassively on the two Aonos.

"Well, it is a surprise to see you here, Tetsuo Aono," the woman said, her voice melodic to Tsukune's ears.

"It's been a while, Lana," said Tetsuo.

"Several decades, I would think," she said, "Acharis was not pleased with your sudden departure."

"Acharis was not pleased with my _existence_," replied his father coolly.

"Be that as it may, you know the penalty for desertion of your post is most... severe. I do admit that I am impressed you have stayed hidden from us for so long." Her gaze drifted to Tsukune, who could not look away from her. "And this must be your son."

"My son has nothing to do with this. You've found me, and I will return willingly to receive my punishment, but he must go free. He knows nothing of our ways and I want him to live his life away from all of this." Tetsuo's voice was hard and Tsukune suddenly felt nervous.

Lana smiled, her lips parting to reveal brilliant white teeth. "Oh, but this has everything to do with him. Raised as a human or not, he will be brought to Elysium along with you. This order comes directly from the Seraphs."

His father seemed to hesitate at that, and Tsukune wondered what the Seraphs were. "I won't let you," said the elder Aono, taking a step forward, his fists tightening.

"You can either come willingly, or we will drag you there a little worse for wear," her tone indicated that she dared him to try anything. The four angels flanking her spread out more and readied themselves, their eyes glowing.

"Dad..." Tsukune started to say.

"You need to run, Tsukune," Tetsuo said and then he roared a battle cry as he threw himself with astonishing speed towards the nearest angel, catching him by surprise as the elder Aono's shoulder rammed into the man's chest, sending him flying back with tremendous force. The next closest angel sent a kick his way but Tetsuo ducked and then launched himself upwards as he caught the man's outstretched leg. They flew into the air and Tetsuo rammed his fist into the man's side, eliciting a cry of pain, before gripping the man's leg tightly and then throwing him down into the ground, a small crater forming from the impact as dust kicked up into the air.

The other two angels were suddenly upon him, and Tetsuo was forced to go on the defensive as the two attacked simultaneously. Tsukune was impressed with his father's skill as he watched him take on the two angels at once, though he noted that the other two were slowly getting to their feet again, their eyes glowing brighter and their faces full of anger.

Lana seemed to watch the fighting with disinterest for a moment before walking over to Tsukune, who turned to her fearfully. He tried to move away but only managed to get a few feet before the armored angel was standing right over him, her silver eyes studying his own brown ones.

"Many decades ago your father deserted his people, leaving Elysium and his post to live a normal life amongst the humans," said the redhead, "For that the punishment is death. And for your mother as well, assuming we find her, and I am sure we will soon enough. However, the Seraphs have ordered that if you return along with your parents and you all rejoin Elysium, they will be spared." Tsukune's heart was beating fast as he thought about her words. "Will you come willingly?" Her armored right hand extended towards him.

There was only the briefest of hesitations before he took her outstretched hand with a strong grip.

"Okay."

* * *

**Author's notes: **Thanks for continuing to read and review! I hope you're all enjoying thus far.

As for Tsukune's dad: I wanted to change the name. Koji just wasn't working for me. If you don't like the change, tough luck! Go find a more canon story.


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